Lot Essay
The slightly misunderstood Turkman design of this carpet indicates that it was woven by non-Turkman people who assoctiated with the Turkman tribes. The most plausible attribution for this carpet seems to be Uzbeki. Another carpet with the same interpetation of the Gulli-gul as seen here, is illustrated in the O'Bannon/Amanova-Olsen reprint and translation of V.G. Moshkova's Carpets of the People of Central Asia, 1996, p.138, fig. 59. It is difficult with our current knowledge to precisely attribute the non-Turkman Central Asian weavings and as such, O'Bannon assigns this cited example to either the Kyrgyz or the Uzbeks. In addition to, or perhaps because of its intriguing origin, this carpet is also notable for its almost whimsical "simplification" of traditional Turkman design motifs and its interesting use of color. The subtle opposition of the white and yellow lining within the Gulli guls is a bold juxtaposition to the color palette in the rest of the carpet.