Carpet Museum. When one first thinks of Turkmenistan, it is
the arid land and oil and gas wells that first come to mind. However, when it
comes to art and culture, carpet making is by far the most predominant image.
For a Turkmen, carpet making has the same importance as the pyramids do for
Egypt. It is one of the oldest arts in Turkmenistan and the region.
Archeological data places carpet making on the territory of Turkmenistan as
early as the 6th century B.C. The remains of a carpet which archeologists found
in the 1940"s at Altai are two-thousand five hundred years old. Research shows
that the design is very similar to the carpets of today.
It took centuries for these designs to develop, and the
decoration of the carpets is extremely original, reflecting stylized articles
of the real world surrounding nomadic livestock-breeders. Ornaments are
geometric, and love of deep, rich red is an artistic tradition of the carpets.
The art of carpet weaving was passed from generation to
generation and today one can single out several types of Turkmen carpets, each
having individual ornamentation. Designs come from the heart of Turkmen women.
So, we have a saying: “Roll out your carpet and I will read your soul”. The
five traditional designs form part of the country"s state emblem and flag. For
Turkmen nomads, the carpets were extremely important, covering wagon floors and
forming collapsible walls, protecting them from the cold.
While carpet making is an ancient tradition, it was little
known outside Central Asia for hundreds of years, only being recognized in the
last one hundred years. Now, Turkmen rugs are known the world over.
Today, carpet making has become a professional art. Like the
Turkmen ancestors, natural dyes and Saryja sheep wool (the smoothest to the
touch) are still used.
The
Carpet Museum has got rich collection of Turkmen carpets of the 17-20
centuries. One can find two sided particular carpets where sides differ by the
colour and pattern. The biggest carpet with the size of 14x21m in the world is
on display. It’s worth to visit!
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