Contact PRIMITIVE RUG

 

 

55 York Street
Morningside, QLD, 4170
Australia

Antique handmade, long piled nomad rugs are rare and unique. Primitive Rug reveals the stories of the nomadic people who wandered the deserts and mountains of Central Asia and beyond, leaving behind these woven works of art. In our store you will find an exclusive selection of old, nomad made rugs. 

These primitive hand woven rugs are from the Amu Darya in the north of Afghanistan, Samarkand in Uzbekistan, the Afghan Pamirs, eastern Turkey, Iran, Spain, eastern Europe, and the mountainous regions of central Afghanistan.

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Journal

Shaggy Long Pile Tribal Nomad Rugs

Filtering by Category: Uzbek Julkhirs

Julkhirs in Mosque Courtyard - Mudaris Samarkand

Robert Cobcroft

  Bearskin in Mosque Courtyard Samarkand

 Julkhirs Bearskin Rug in Mosque Courtyard Mudaris Samarkand Circa 1910

An Uzbek Julkhirs used as a seating rug in the courtyard of a mosque. Julkhirs in Uzbekistan at the beginning of the 20th century were documented by Prokudin-Gorskiĭ, Sergeĭ Mikhaĭlovich, 1863-1944, photographer. These early Julkhirs images compliment those shot by Dudin and ethnographic data collected by Moshkova, Semenov and Dudin. Julkhirs were sold at the markets of Bukhara and Samarkand. 1  "Julkhirs served as floor covering near the hearth or cooking/heating brazier. However, the rug collection of the Uzbekistan Museum of Art contains a julkhirs in the shape of a long, wide runnner, probably intended for a rich mehmankhana (geust house). It is thus possible that rugs of this type were produced not only for purely domestic use but for the market as well."2 The fabric merchant of Samarkand and the students in the Mudaris courtyard illustrate how julkhirs were used in a domestic setting, the long pile would provide a more comfortable and soft surface when seated for long periods and explains one reason why julkhirs proved so popular. "The distribution of the julkhirs, designated by identical or similar terms in the Samarqand Oblast, suggests that the geographic extent of this rug type was once rather great, although their production apparantly never exceeded the limits of the local market. " 3

Shoes are not worn whilst seated and books are placed on the rug. Used together with other rugs on the ground. This Julkhirs is new and typical of early 20th century production.

IMAGES:

1 Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Prokudin-Gorskii Collection, [reproduction number: LC-DIG-prokc-21753 - LC-DIG-prok-11753] Views in Central Asia, Russian Empire, LOT 10338, no. 124.

REFERENCES:

1. Moshkova  V. G.  Carpets of the People of Central Asia  George O’Bannon,  Arizona Lithographers Tucson, Arizona, 1996 p.83 (Dudin noted this sometime between 1910 and 1914.)

2.  ibid., p.83.

3.  ibid., p.83.

Julkhirs in Mosque Courtyard Samarkand

The Fabric Merchant of Samarkand

Robert Cobcroft

  Uzbek Julkhirs floor rugs - cloth merchant Samarqand

 

The Fabric Merchant of Samarkand's Julkhirs 1

Two Julkhirs in use on the floor of a fabric merchant’s store in Samarkand Circa 1910 silk, cotton and wool fabrics as well as a framed page of the Koran are hung on the wall.

Aniline Dyes Uzbek Julkhirs

Prokudin-Gorskii employed a unique colour photographic process to capture the image of the Samarkand cloth merchant. Three glass negatives exposed simultaneously, described as triple-frame images made with colour seperation filters. The effect can be seen at the edge of the image. In post production the negatives were sandwiched together to create a colour composite. We are fortunate to have access to these early colour images.

The two Julkhirs shown in this image are typical of early 20th Century production where Julkhirs were produced using synthetic dyes. In some the dyes are extremely unstable and bright garish colours were used, presumably a shortcut to emulate the deeply saturated naturally dyed 19th century examples.  Compare the image to the right to the one at the front of the fabric merchants store – this rug has all of the problems associated with the use of these dyes.

See also Moshkova for other example illustrated dating from the beginning of the twentieth century.2

 

1 Image: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, [Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-prokc-21725]

2. Moshkova  V. G.  Carpets of the People of Central Asia (George O’Bannon,  Arizona Lithographers Tucson, Arizona, 1996 pp,. 78,86

Fabric Merchant Samarqand - Julkhirs as floor coverings

Dye runs garish aniline dyes Julkhirs Circa 1910