18th Century Salor Chuval 77 x 122cm

Real Salor chuvals, even when knocked about like this one, still demonstrate power. The charisma of this noble weaving drips off the page and is an item to be cherished. Few were made and few survive in any condition. I am so proud to be able to offer this superb Salor, the colour is vibrant and the fine quality undeniable. Look at the forest green used to outline the two 'Salor' guls on each side. Look at the ever so slightly tawny red ground of the border. Very limited use of magenta silk. What looks like silk in the pictures Is mostly cochineal dyed wool. My instincts tell me this is an early Salor, could easily be circa 1700.

The Salor tribe was once the most powerful of the Turkoman and like all the others, Tekke, Yomud, Beshir, Ersari, Chodor and Saryk, produced handwoven trappings to decorate the yurt, demonstrate wealth and to facilitate tradition occasions like weddings. Salor trappings- and carpets- are the most cherished and collectable of all because their consummate weaving skills and appreciation of depth and space within a limited material. The Salors were all massacred circa 1811 by the ferocious Tekke and the few that survived were assimilated into the Tekke and some of the weavers continued to produce 'late Salors' under the direction of the Tekke but these are easily identifiable by the dramatic decrease in aesthetic and physical qualities.

Size in imperial is 2'7" x 4'0"