Salmiya

According to the American dealer who collaborated with a gallery in Stuttgart, Germany: “Low pile, missing parts of perimeter, and a few spots of crinkle damage/wear. Asymmetric knot open to the right. Wool, camel, goat, & cotton (1 ply in wefts). Fairly wide range of color for an Ertman chuval including 2 greens and a yellow. Bold, macho, elem and vertical aspect of main borders. For some reason digital cameras do not seem to have the ability to capture the traditional salmon color found in Chodor work. This applies to the images seen here. Most Turkoman collectors know this color. It is pure and good in this example.” I had first contacted Jack Cassin, by email, in 2012. I had bought the above Chodor chuval from an American dealer who was collaborating with a gallery in Stuttgart, Germany. In preparation of my purchase, I had bought a small booklet by Cassin & Hoffmeister (1988), Tent Band, Tent Bag. Despite the sober, not really scientific but at least pretending, descri...

Rug dealers are never scholars, and neither are collectors who, after some time, become inevitably dealers. Scholars are experts who do not need to own "collectibles" to study them. Having lived in the Middle East for a couple of years I had been infected with the carpet bug from the very beginning. Considering myself a "collector", even after some years of buying what interests me, would be an exaggeration. I have been, though, in contact with a variety of antique rug dealers over the years and have learned to be suspicious of, in particular, western self-declared pundits. What they desperately need is information regarding provenance and age. Otherwise it would be difficult to sell their inferior textiles (they keep, of course, their better pieces). Having said that, I can only thank a New York collector/dealer/expert who I have recently come across for his advice: not to buy but just enjoy and, well, study! Of all Turkmen weavings I had always been fascinat...