The Powerhouse acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the ancestral homelands upon which our museums are situated. We respect their Elders, past, present and future and recognise their continuous connection to Country.

Rugs and trappings from Central Asia, Afghanistan and China

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Knotted pile rugs have long been woven across Central Asia, which today comprises the independent states of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, as well as in neighbouring Afghanistan and China’s western province of Xinjiang. For beauty, colour and technical excellence, the most highly prized pile rugs of this region are those of the Turkmen peoples. The Powerhouse Museum holds outstanding examples by Turkmen tribes such as the Tekke, Yomut and Chodor, that combine …

85/1900 Main carpet, flatweave, wool/cotton, Tekke Turkmen women, Turkmenistan (formerly West Turkestan), 1850-1900
Tekke Turkmen main carpet, late 1800s
2010/33/2 Flatweave eating mat or soffreh, wool, hand woven by Baluchi woman in eastern Iran or north western Afghanistan, c.1920
Baluchi eating mat or soffreh from Iran or Afghanistan
c.1920
2015/26/1 Main carpet (khali), symmetrically knotted pile, wool, made by Yomut Turkmen woman, Turkmenistan, late 1700s
Main carpet (khali), Yomut Turkmen
1775-1799
96/391/1 Prayer rug, pile weave, wool/camel/silk, made by Baluchi woman, northwest Afghanistan, 1890 - 1900
Baluchi prayer rug, northwest Afghanistan, late 1800s
2015/26/7 Tent door cover (engsi), symmetrically knotted wool, made by Yomut Turkmen woman, Turkmenistan or north eastern Iran, early 1800s
Tent door cover (engsi), Yomut Turkmen
1800-1825
A8358 Rug, Mashwani design, wool/animal hair, made by Aimaq women, western Afghanistan, c.1900
Mashwani design rug, western Afghanistan
c.1900
87/1526 Torba (tent bag), knotted pile weave, wool, by Tekke Turkmen woman, Turkmenistan, Central Asia, 1850-1900
Torba (tent bag) by Tekke Turkmen women
1850-1900
94/42/2 Rug, knotted pile, wool / cotton, Khotan, Xinjiang, China (formerly East Turkestan), 1920 - 1950
Knotted pile rug from Khotan
2009/72/1 Carpet, 'Khanate of Bukhara', knotted wool, made by a Turkmen Beshir weaver, western Central Asia, c. 1850
Turkmen Beshir carpet from Central Asia
c.1850
A4376 Rug, knotted pile, wool, Tekke Turkmen design, probably made in Bukhara, Uzbekistan (formerly part of the USSR), c.1950
Turkmen design factory-produced carpet, Bukhara