|
 |
|
An old central Asian carpet which
will be auctioned in India |
New Delhi: A selection
of antique carpets, rugs, kilims, runners, tapestries and
fragments from the famous weaving regions around Central Asia -
known for their ancient wool weaving traditions - will be
auctioned in Bangalore June 11 by Indian auction house Bid &
Hammer.
The auction will be the company's first sale of antique textiles.
The 120 lots on sale are estimated between $280 and $22,500. Most
of the collectibles that will go under the hammer are more than
100 years old, a statement from the auction house said Monday.
The auction house said the collection includes tribal carpets from
regions like the Caucasian mountains, located between the Black
and Caspian seas, which have nations like Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Georgia and Dagestan (Russia); the Persian Zagros mountains area;
the Kurdish enclaves of Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria; the high and
middle Atlas mountains of Morocco; and republics of Uzbekistan and
Kyrgyzstan.
Almost all of the weaving groups from these regions were nomadic
and migrated to other regions for climatic reasons. Their weaves
reflect a potpourri of diverse ethnicities, tribal lifestyles and
indigenous customs, the auction house said.
The material used for Central Asian carpets is a predominantly
high mountain wool with some exceptions containing a little
cotton. The colours are natural in the older 19th century samples.
The new carpets of the early 20th century use inorganic colours.
The condition of the carpets varies from some seemingly untouched
pristine antiques to those that have worn out and may have been
repaired or left in their genuine used condition, the auction
house said.
Chairman of Bid & Hammer M. Maher Dadha said, "The focus is on
Central Asian tribal carpets. They are spontaneous and are
personal expressions of the weavers."
He added that the carpets on sale have been procured from private
collectors from the US, Europe and Central Asia.
Describing one of the exhibits, Dadha said,""One good example is
the Karabagh rug which was woven in the southern Caucasus region
in the last quarter of the 19th century".
"It has unusual dyes and field patterns," Dadha explained.
Other textiles accessories include a hand-woven woollen Amritsari
carpet created in 1900 (estimated at Rs.1,30,000), a French
Aubusson-style carpet (estimated at Rs.90,000) and a 19th Century
Flemish tapestry of a landscape (estimated at Rs.2,50,000).
Historical accounts say the carpets in central Asia were woven by
the Turkmen, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Karakalpaks, Kirghizs and Kazakhs; in
northern and northeastern Persia; and in the Uighur areas of
Sinkiang in China.
The oldest well-preserved knotted pile carpets and flat woven rugs
were excavated at Pazyryk in southern Siberia by Russian
archaeologist Sergei Rudenko.
|
Comments
|
Quick links