765. a mesmerizing antique Ersari Turkoman Afghan

765. Provenance: Ersari tribe, Turkoman group of tribes, Northern Afghanistan

Size:  335 x 227 cm

Age: Circa 1970 (?), possibly older.

Condition: Minor areas of lower pile

Notes:  A classic Afghan Ersari fil pai or 'elephant foot', refering to the oversized Turkoman guls or medallions. This one has 18 of them, all well dimensioned and spaced and exceptionally beautifully-coloured. These guls developed differently from their Turkomen brethren who remained to the west and north of them, under increasing Russian influence, and commercialization of their woven goods. As the demand for increasinly finely woven rugs grew, so the gul shapes tended to 'flatten', whereas in Afghanistan the more isolated Ersari displayed an oppopsite trend - a broadening and enlarging of the guls. Pieces of high age would, at times, display an abundant (by Afghan standards) use of expensive indigo, both in the blue shades and the rarer green (indigo mixed with saffron or other yellow). Although this piece may be more recent, it's natural dyes and glossy, highland wool echo an earlier era or rug-weaving.