Comparisons Between
Band Techniques
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Back to BANDS page
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| On this page I
have posted assorted notes
on contrasting details from the bands that we have examined so far. It is too soon to say whether
differences in knotting practices will help to group these pieces either geographically or chronologically. |
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We
can normally expect patterning in VERTICAL design areas and
stripes to be executed in normal tent band knotting done on an
open shed. That's because otherwise almost constant knot transitions
would be required along vertical border edges.
Some weavers have extended this kind of knot arrangement into
their HORIZONTAL bands. I have found this consistency in bands that
most people label Yomut. In the band detail below,
diagonal "barber
pole" color divisions were made in exactly the same way
whether the areas were vertical or horizontal. |
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Yomut
(?) band with "normal" knotting used consistently for
both vertical and horizontal pattern
areas.
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| Other band
weavers have used extra offsets and diagonally aligned pile for HORIZONTAL elements. Such an approach appears in
the Arabatchi (?) band from which some details on the previous page
were taken; the same approach was used in Christoph's band below, a
band type that has more often been labeled Tekke, and in the Mosby fragment shown later below -- a piece that
is probably Saryk. |
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Tekke (?) band with regular
band knotting in the vertical stripe. The
HORIZONTAL pattern areas, however, uses extra offsets, with knots
aligned as in diagram E.
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We have found
striking
differences in the way weavers have formed similar zigzag borders. The Yomut (?) bands, and also the Mosby
Saryk fragment
shown later, display zigzagging elements
executed with extra offsets, as in the left
photo below. In contrast, Christoph's band, below right, has a
vertical zigzag that is a continuation of the regular knotting in
the two encompassing vertical borders.
In other words, the Yomut weaver treated the zigzagging form as a
separate element, to be articulated in the easiest and smoothest
way. The weaver of the band on the right treated the zigzags and vertical borders as
one motif, executing all parts in the same fashion, even though on an open
ground the irregular diagonal knot alignment was a little more
clumsy. |
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Yomut (?) band with zigzag motif articulated with
the extra offsets of
diagonal knotting
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Tekke (?) band with zigzag motif articulated along with vertical borders in
regular knotting
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Serrated
"wing" forms are prominent features on Turkmen
tent bands, presented in the narrow format as leaves on a flowering stalk. Several
versions appear, with variations due primarily to
differences in the techniques used.
In Example 1 below, the leaves appear to have been
articulated with extra offset knotting aligned in
continuous diagonal columns, as in Diagram C. Each serration is
thus shaped with two slightly different inclining diagonals. This is the
purest use of extra offsets. The lower edge of each leaf inclines at a more shallow angle than any other
detail in the band -- and is formed with still a third diagonal,
presumably like that shown in green in the center of diagram C.
These serrated leaves thus utilize the natural asymmetry of the structure.
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1
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2
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3
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Although the large ashik flower head
in Example 2 is made also with the two asymmetrical diagonals natural
to extra offset knotting, the leaves have serrations that are vertical on one
side, and diagonal on the other. Here, it is likely that the forms
were articulated
with regular tent band knotting in vertical columns
that form Alignment B diagonals where they end. We should note that
this form of the motif -- serrations with vertical sides -- is the form that
appears regularly on Yomut asmalyks. It is an adaptation of an old
slit-tapestry details turned on end for convenience in knotting.
In Example 3, from the same band, the weaver drew more steeply inclined "teeth." These may
have been made with regular tent band knotting in
vertical columns that ended to produce the steep diagonals shown in
Alignment A. It is possible also, though, that the diagonal columns of
extra offset knotting may
have produced the steep inclines, with knot transitions made where
each column ended at a vertical outline. Whichever was used, this weaver returned later in the band to the
method in Example 2. It may be worth investigating to see if such
differences in approach help to separate the work of different
tribal groups.
Sometimes the difficulties that weavers experienced in articulating
certain designs can be informative. Example 4 shows one weaver's
problems with the three natural diagonals of extra offsets -- the
same approach as that used in Example 1. Although the structure is perfectly suited to the motif's
formation, the concept is mentally difficult to handle when one is knotting
row by row. Straight-sided serrations that could be drawn with
vertically aligned knotting had an advantage in this
respect.
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5
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6
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In Example 5,
the weaver has omitted the serrations, making simpler, and perhaps more effective, diagonal elements that
were articulated
completely with extra offsets.
In Example 6, we see another design solution entirely -- an
attempt to ornament plain diagonal forms with angular hooks, all
presumably made with extra offsets.
This weaver jettisoned the small flowers which were so difficult to
knot, retaining only one drooping blossom at the end of each
branch. It's a complete transformation of the traditional design.
Thus stylistic evolution appears to have been closely
tied to technical considerations.
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The small flower forms on
these bands also
display contrasts in their
construction. Most weavers at least tried to draw the points
with extra offsets arranged in converging steep diagonals. Beyond that, however, these motifs show a
variety of approaches.
In a very finely woven band fragment (Saryk ?) from the collection of Rob
Mosby, the points are the steep diagonals we expect, and they
are executed with near perfect consistency. Because of the steeper
alignment, more outlining knots are close together in these areas,
thickening the outlines.
(Remember that each knot is represented by two separate nodules on the
band's back.) |
Tent band fragment. Wool and
silk pile on wool. Detail. Rob Mosby
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On this band, although the flower contours were drawn
with consistency, the interiors are full of variations. In most of
these, the steep points outlined with converging Alignment D diagonals are also
filled with converging diagonal columns. As these knot columns continue
into the flower centers, they are interrupted by small triangular
ornaments. Where the columns end (or start) at the base of each flower, the wider
steps of more shallow extra offset diagonals form the
contours. There are startling complications within motifs only 2 to 2.5 cm.
wide.
The outlines of these flower points display a clever
feature. The point of each was made with one knot. Just below
that the collar of a larger knot was stretched out to encompass
one warp on each incline. We see a blank space in the middle of
this knot on
the band's back. Below that, regular knots form the diagonal outlines. |
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On the Yomut band below, the weaver formed the
outer flower petals with knot columns inclining consistently outward.
Columns converged to make the center petal, while the heavy center
stalks and flower centers were made with normal, vertical knot
columns. This weaver did a little shaping of the
outline at the side corners to round the forms a little. The knots
positions are more difficult to see on the back of this band, as
in many areas at least half of each knot is hidden. |
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| Still another approach was
used in Christoph's (Tekke ?) band (Example 5 above). The small flowers were made of knots
arranged diagonally in the ordinary extra offset alignment.
The interior knot columns all
run in one
direction consistently. The incline is very smooth along the
starting point at the flower's lower right side, as well as along
the right side of each flower point, where the contours shift to
the steep Alignment D inclines. This weaver drew left-side flower outlines to mirror those on the right, however, meaning that some
extra filling was needed and that adjustments were necessary where the interior knot columns met the
left outlines. |
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Here's a
simplified comparison of extra offset knot arrangements in the three
bands above. The first shows the three sets of converging
knot columns used in the Mosby (Saryk?) fragment. The second shows the
combination approach used in the Yomut band fragment, where
vertical columns fill most of the flower center, while other parts
are made with inward-inclining knot columns. The third drawing
shows knot columns running in only one direction as they are in Christoph's band just
above, with extra filling needed and different outlines used on
the left.
These drawings show only the general approach to each. The small
flowers vary within each band, as the weavers struggled to make
smooth exterior outlines and consistent pile textures within the
motifs. The first two examples also included small
triangles in the middle of each flower; these interrupted the
smooth flow of the knot columns. |
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A non-Turkman example of knotting
with extra offsets that combines two inclines in a single motif
is seen in a narrow band from Daniel Deschuyteneer's collection.
It is thought to be Uzbek. Though there are some irregularities,
the red "S" forms are made with identical converging
columns of extra offset knots. Most of the asymmetrical yellow triangular tips are
formed with extra offsets in the same fashion as
the Turkmen flower in Christoph's band above, with adjacent and
differing diagonals. |
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In most places, red
diagonals that make the large "S" forms on this Uzbek
band were formed as in Alignment E. The yellow triangular tip above
shows the asymmetrical shape that resulted when most knots were
aligned along one side of the motif (the left here);
larger steps formed on the other side. These details vary freely, however,
throughout the band.
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How have band weavers handled the rather
unnatural triangular motifs that appear in many of the more
complex bands? Inconsistently, it seems. In the detail below, from the Mosby fragment, the
small stacked triangles on the right sides of the columns were executed with extra
offsets in diagonal columns. This weaver apparently was not totally comfortable with that approach
and so switched to regular knotting
for most of the small triangles on the left sides of the stacked
columns. For the large points on the ashik motif, she also did half in one
fashion, half in the other. Those pointing upward in the lower
right half of the photo are regular knotting with vertical pile
columns; those on the left
side have diagonal pile columns produced by extra offsets. In
all of these areas, the outlines are consistently drawn with extra
offsets, while the fillings differ. |
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An Attribution Question
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The fragment above presents the typical kind of dilemma
faced when we search for tribal tent band labels. Is it
Tekke? Or Yomut? A combination of clues suggests that
this example instead be tentatively labeled Saryk. First, the
inclusion of both silk and cotton pile is consistent with that
attribution. So is the fineness of the knotting, much of it done
with wool singles, rather than two singles. Bands that surely must
be Yomut have lower warp counts, even when executed with great
finesse. The coral colors in this band are more typical of Saryk
work than the other groups. And included is a fine multi-ply
commercial yarn in cherry red that I have found in early Salor, Saryk
and Tekke work, but not in Yomut weavings.
But the
clinchers came in unexpected technical details that my friend
Allan Arthur noticed. Tiny colored (red
and blue) weft inlays were used to straighten and strengthen the
weave near the edges -- features not found in Tekke or Yomut
work, but common in Saryk weaving. Weft-splice ridges typical of
Tekke and Saryk weavings are sprinkled throughout. Then we found overlapped knots
forming columns in the outside borders -- knots jammed
together purely to add bulk and strengthen the band edges. This is a Saryk weaving practice, and one not used in Tekke work.
If a significant number of bands can be attributed with some
certainty based on distinctive weaving practices and
characteristics, we may then be able to add unique extra offset
knotting techniques to our arsenals of features useful for making
tent band attributions. |
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