Lot 345 A FINE ANTIQUE TURKMEN YOMUD ASMALYK (CEREMONIAL CAMEL TRAPPING)
Up for auction is a choice and visually immensely powerful rarity of Central Asian knotting art: An antique Yomud Asmalyk from Turkmenistan, precisely hand-crafted around 1900. These distinctive, five-sided ceremonial textiles were traditionally made in pairs by the women of the Yomud tribe for the wedding procession to festively decorate the flanks of the bridal camel on its way to the new yurt. The inner field of this specimen presents a flawlessly proportioned, diamond lattice design. The diamond-shaped fields are filled with the iconic, sharply serrated Ashik motifs, whose contours stand out with razor-sharp definition thanks to the radiant ivory outline yarn. The coloration is based on a deep, rich Yomut brownish-red, harmoniously contrasted by indigo blue and warm earth tones. The monumental center is framed by an elegant main border with finely stylized running vines and an outer protective border in a running dog design. The textile work of art is in a generally good condition with a very beautiful, dense preservation of the wool pile and a stable weave structure. A high- caliber collector's item that, due to its geometric symmetry and sculptural form, is perfectly suited as a prestigious art object for wall mounting. • Condition: Generally good condition (very well-maintained, authentic collector's condition with an evenly intact pile structure). • Dimensions (Metric): 70 by 42 cm.