December, 192^ 
75 
Bokhara rugs vary considerably in size, from the big tent portiere to the small bed 
rug. The one illustrated, of a velvety purple-red, belongs to the latter class. Similar 
pieces are sought after by those whose floor space is limited 
gives better wear than the Bokhara class; 
they are made for hard service by hard liv¬ 
ing tent-dwelling people; for warmth, for 
comfort, for bed and pillow, for tent-door 
and for saddle; nothing short of the most 
conscientious workmanship would serve 
for long. 
“Royal Bokhara” is the Western term, 
invented in America and now used in the 
trade to distinguish the finest of the Turko¬ 
man productions, Tekkes. Formerly, rugs 
made by the Salors—the oldest Turkoman 
tribe in history—-were known as “Royals”, 
but these fine things are no longer made, 
and have become rare to the point of ex¬ 
tinction, and the rugs woven by the Tekke- 
Turkoman tribe are now given the “Turk¬ 
ish Royal Appointment”. They deserve 
it; there is no better Oriental rug made. 
The short thick pile is like velvet, at once 
dense and supple, and so firm in weave, 
with so many knots to the inch, that a pin 
cannot pierce through the back. 
Women are the weavers in this tribe; 
the wool is that fine undergrowth known 
as pashm, and they finish the rugs, with 
woolen cords at the two top comers to 
save wear and tear when the rug is pulled 
from one place to another, and when it is 
hung, portiere-wise, over the tent opening. 
\ 
Touches of dark blue appear in this beautiful 
Yomud rug, which shows a cruder treatment of 
fine Tekke patterns. The elephant’s foot 
appears, conventionally treated 
The pattern of flattened, somewhat irregu¬ 
lar, octagons is generally divided up 
sharply into oblongs and squares by cross¬ 
ing bands. The color is a glorious smolder¬ 
ing red, and ivory white is used to outline 
the figures. 
Rugs woven by the huge Yomud tribe 
bear some resemblance to those made by 
the Tekkes, to whom they are racially and 
politically allied; both are informed with 
the same general tradition, but the Yo- 
muds have borrowed ideas from others and 
assimilated them into their designs. Dia¬ 
monds are substituted for the octagons, 
and the rigid checker-board of the Tek¬ 
kes; and latch-hooks abound. Shirvan fig¬ 
ures appear in the borders and they use 
devices copied from the Daghestan looms, 
but all simplified in the rectilinear geo¬ 
metrical fashion of Western Turkestan. 
Into the warm reds and purplish browns 
are introduced touches of yellow from the 
Caucasus, with a good deal of the con¬ 
spicuous Turkoman white. 
The name, “Blue Bokhara”, is some¬ 
times given to the rugs and carpets of 
Beluchistan because the dark blue which 
is often employed here is rare elsewhere in 
Central Asia. Deep blue, deep dark red, 
{Continued on page 86) 
In this typical Tekke Bokhara 
the conventional pattern of flat¬ 
tened irregular octagons is 
clearly marked. The deep lurid 
red of its coloring is reminis¬ 
cent of the wild tribesmen by 
whom they were used 
