Magical weaves

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A long Anatolian kilim, a Kyrgyz Julkhyr rug or a Shahsavan runner, these exquisite pieces of art woven in thread will go under the hammer this month. The country will witness a first of its kind carpets, rugs and tapestries auction on June 11. Bengaluru-based auction house Bid & Hammer has put together a collection of 120 lots for the auction.
Sourced from individual collectors, each of these are from regions in Central Asia, the Caucasian mountains located between the Black and Caspian seas, the Persian Zagros mountains area and the Kurdish enclaves of Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria. Estimated between `15,000 to `12, 00, 000, the highest bid is expected to be between `10-12 lakh. “Indians are collectors of high value antiquities and artifacts. The woven items are from the personal collection of a few Indians who have lived abroad and have relocated to India,” says Ankush Dadha, director, Bid & Hammer.
Novices or seasoned art connoisseurs, collecting carpets and rugs is the trend that has caught the fancy of many. Not just the aesthetics, the monetary value is something that attracts many to invest. “Prices of all of these are bound to go up. The distinct factor of each is the region that it comes from. Most of these are hand-made by tribal nomadic women,” says Ankush. A carpet or a rug is also identified by its physical aspects — like pile count (density) and design elements. An Adiyaman runner from mid 20th Century Anatolia is identified by its heavy pile count. While the drawings of Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu and the Gopis are characteristic elements of a few Kashmiri woven carpets probably made for the Hindu rulers of that region. “Buying these is not as complicated as buying paintings,” adds Ankush.
The auction notice has received an overwhelming response online. Art-lovers from UK, USA, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Melbourne will be in Bengaluru for the auction. Despite online auctions being popular, the organisers have chosen to go the traditional way. “People prefer full-fledged live physical auctions. During online auctions, bidders can’t follow the direction of the bidding. But most importantly, who wouldn’t want to hear the applause at the end,” concludes Ankush.