Description
Ersari Turkmen main carpet, Middle Amu Darya region, Central Asia, probably mid-nineteenth century. Three columns of large straight-sided gölli guls, incorporating elements related to the older Salor design tradition.
The main device in this rug is an Ersari form of the gölli/gülli gul: a large, straight-sided octagon divided into contrasting quarters, with dark-blue latticework and floral or trefoil elements. The gölli gul was not exclusive to one Turkmen tribe—it also occurs among the Tekke, Salor and occasionally Saryk.
The gölli-gul vocabulary thus ultimately belongs to a shared Turkmen design inheritance, and certain early Ersari carpets preserve Salor-related features. Christie’s recently catalogued a particularly close type as an Ersari main carpet, Middle Amu Darya, first half of the nineteenth century, specifically describing its three columns of large straight-sided gölli guls and noting that its box border recalls Salor main carpets.