There appear to be two variants of Saryk carpets found which use the Temirdchen gul. The first has a small juval gul as its minor gul and uses the typical Saryk naldag lozenge panel border (Grote-Hasenbalg, W.: Der Orientteppich, seine Geschichte und seine Kultur, Berlin, 1922, Vol.3, no.94; Eskenazi, J.: L'Arte del Tapetto Orientale, Mailand, 1983, no.24; Rippon Boswell & Co.: Seltene antike und alte Orientteppiche, Wiesbaden 10 November 1990, lot 151; Mackie, L.W. and Thompson, J.: Turkmen Tribal Carpets and Traditions, Washington D.C., 1980, pl.16, p.84 (fragment), Pinner, R.: The Rickmers Collection - Turkoman Rugs, Berlin, 1993, no.1, p.22 (fragment)). The second variant, to which the present lot belongs, has a 'Memling' hooked lozenge gul as its secondary ornament and a border of cruciform panels also used by the Salor (Volkmann, M.: Alte Orientteppiche - Ausgewählte Stücke deutscher Privatsammlungen, Munich, 1985, no.82, p.200; Loges, W.: Turkoman Tribal Rugs, Atlantic Highlands, 1980, no.24, p.49; Wie Blumen in der Wüste, exhibition catalogue, Hamburg, 1993, no.104, p.156). Two pieces show variations on the above. A carpet in the McCoy-Jones Collection has the Memling minor gul coupled with the naldag border (Tent and Town, exhibition catalogue, San Francisco, 1982, no.6, p.5), while a fragment in Berlin shows not only this combination, but also includes a 'Memling' motif as the central feature of each gul (Pinner, R.: The Rickmers Collection - Turkoman Rugs, Berlin, 1993, no.2, p.23.)

A very few knots in the lower part of this carpet have been worked in both pink silk and pink cotton, a feature apparently unknown in this group of main carpets (Loges) but found in other Saryk weavings. The pink cotton is particularly rare.