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From the perspective of the late 20th - early 21st century, the historic source of most of the designs we label as 'tribal' is the urban or village workshop.
These designs, in their conventional forms, have little or no ancestral connection to the early weavings of nomadic tribal groups.
Designs, however, evolve, change and are re-interpreted. Consequently, many 'tribal' motifs are variants of what are considered 'traditional' designs.
In reality, these variants are imaginative tribal interpretations of workshop designs. As such, they are more purely tribal than the original and the finest of these are rare, often unique and highly collectible tribal artifacts.
The field design of this rug displays a tribal interpretation of the 'tile design'. A conventional example of this design can be found in Diehr, Frank Martin, Treasured Baluch Pieces from Private Collections, p. 79.
From this example one can see the manner in which the weaver of this rug manipulated and re-configured elements of the traditional format.
All the dyes used in this rug are from natural dye sources.
There is a wonderful, rich indigo blue used in both the field and the border.
The presence of an aubergine with a mellow and aged patina is extensive. (see: detail #2)
There is a dramatic use of color in the eight pointed stars in the main border. Two of the star sections are indigo and two sections are aubergine.
The presence of abrush is testament to the tribal nature of this weaving. The top one-third of the ground color is an orange-hued brown. The remaining two-thirds are two distinct shades of aubergine.
This gives the rug a primitive yet visually interesting quality.
Condition: The condition of this rug is very good.
There are no repairs to the rug and no areas of wear or damage.
There is very minimal oxidation in the field. The pile is full. The wool is lustrous. |
