Early Eagle Group I Tent Band Fragment

91 x 83 cm (3' x 2' 9")
Turkmenistan, 18th century or before
Condition: fragments sewn together, mounted on frame
Warp: wool, weft: silk, pile: wool with small silk highlights

The assembled fragments appear to come from a tent band formerly attributed to the Saryk but now believed to belong to the Eagle gül group. Nearly a dozen bands of this type are known, and they are thought to have been produced in workshops in and around Astarabad, with some examples dated as early as the mid 16th century.
Although the three ply pile often associated with this group does not appear consistently across all examples, the presence of silk in the pile suggests that this piece - and others like it - belongs to Group 1.
The distinctive hooked motifs and flowering buds show striking similarities to the complete bands illustrated as plates 110 and 111 in Jürg Rageth's "Turkmen Carpets: A New Perspective". These tent bands served as decorative (rather than structural) elements on wedding yurts, with the hooked motifs displayed through the lattice wall openings.
Interestingly, in some pieces the decoration extends beyond the white ground and continues over the ground borders - an unusual aesthetic choice for Turkmen weavings.

Estimate: € 4000 - 6000