MIDDLE AMU DARYA REGION, MID 19TH CENTURY

More than any other group of Turkmen rugs, the Beshir prayer rugs can be seen as a reflection and synthesis of motifs from neighbouring weaving cultures, and yet the genesis and weavers of these beautiful rugs still remain shrouded in mystery. There have been a great many conflicting theories about the origins of this small group of tribal prayer rugs and, without substantive documentation or factual evidence, scholars and authors have been unable to come to a consensus about whether the attribution of 'Beshir' refers to a location or tribe. In his seminal article 'Beshir Prayer Rugs', Hali 151, pp.74-83, Ralph Kaffel explores the various theories proposed by leading rug academics and convincingly argues for an amalgam of ideas, "that Beshir rugs were woven in the villages of the Middle Amu Darya by Ersari weavers, along with transplanted Salors and Olams [and] marketed primarily from Bukhara."

According to Kaffel, this Beshir prayer rug is one of only three examples which have "disproportionately large 'heads' topping the mihrabs" and was previously unpublished until it was included in his article (ibid, fig.12). The present rug conforms to the type 3D Beshir prayer rug and while the large 'head' is an unusual feature there are a number of examples in the group which share the same narrow format, large quantities of ivory ground and a pinched bottle-shaped prayer niche. A closely related example is discussed by Uwe Jordan (Oriental Rugs, Volume 5, Turkoman, Augsburg, 1989, p.315, fig. 295). For further examples please see Ulrich Schürmann, Central Asian Rugs, Frankfurt, 1969, p.125, pl.49; Werner Loges, Turkoman Tribal Rugs, New Jersey, 1980, pp.152-3, pl.89 and James Opie, Tribal Rugs, Singapore, 1992, pp.310-11.