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Beshir Pile Rug

Several of the Turkmen tribes have produced prayer rugs, but only the settled Ersari of the Amu Darya valley (the 'Beshir') have produced them in any numbers. They are characterized by mihrabs topped by rams' horns. Several designs are known, in some of which the mihrab is shaped like a key-hole or head and neck. A close analog to the one depicted here is shown by Jourdan¹ as no. 295, and described as "This rare prayer rug is fascinating for its clarity of colour and design."  Jourdan dates his piece as "3-rd quarter of the 19th century." Compared to Jourdan's example, The present piece has many more irregularities in the design, signifying that it is either older, or produced in more rustic surroundings, or merely woven by a less competent weaver. At any rate, its lesser degree of 'stiffness' would be valued by at least some collectors.  The piece has some losses at the ends and suffers from wear and loss of pile. There is a repiled area in the center.
 

1. Uwe Jourdan, Oriental Rugs Volume 5—Turkoman, Battenberg Verlag, Augsburg, 1989.