Bukhara Silk Medallion

Ornament & symbolism

City workshops in Bukhara wove in silk, whose sheen shifts with the light. The crisp central medallion and corner quarters frame the field like a garden seen from above.

Pile weavePile weave — A knotted carpet: short tufts of wool or silk are knotted onto the warp and trimmed, giving a soft, dense, hard-wearing surface.GülGül — A repeating medallion that acts as a tribal emblem on Turkmen carpets. Each tribe — Tekke, Yomut, Saryk — has its own recognisable gül.

History

As a Silk-Road capital Bukhara produced finely knotted silk carpets for trade and for the court, more formal and symmetrical than the tribal weaving of the steppe.

Suits these interiors

A refined, slightly glamorous piece for a formal living or dining room; the silk catches lamplight and dresses up a restrained palette.