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The weaving was carried out by women on small portable looms which lay horizontal in use, thus most of the rugs tend to be small in size. Most of the items made by these nomadic tribal groups were intended for their personal use, they include door and wall hangings, saddle cloths, camel bags and storage bags known as juvals, as well as carpets and rugs. Trade in Turkoman carpets flourished in the market towns of Bukhara, Meshed and Herat and exceptionally fine pieces were made to sell to the wealthy merchants who travelled through on their passage to the orient.
The most common design feature of Turkoman carpets is the "gull", the Persian word for flower. Often represented as a repeating medallion over the central field of the carpet, it is commonly referred to as the elephants foot design. Pictured below.
Today carpet production tends to come from village workshops and is represented by commercial qualities known as Nahzat or H.M. (Hamet Mustafa). They generally have a thick woollen pile which is washed to a fine lustrous finish and give years and years of use. They are sometimes scorned by rug connoisseurs and dealers in antique carpets, but for those of us of modest means, a little time carefully spent hunting the less commercial production of the modern Turkoman weavers can be rewarding and represents a sound investment in a fine product from a diminishing market.
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