--- Beautiful authentic Bochara. Antique, made at least 100 years ago. Crafted with wool from their own sheep and dyes they made themselves from local plants. Knotted on undyed goat hair warp threads. The octagonal shapes are called ‘Guls’. Each tribe has or had its own distinctive Gul symbol. This red is very beautiful, rather soft in tone and with 'abrash' – the variation in color you can see. You don’t see one flat, uniform color but rather a hundred subtle nuances – the charm of handmade work. Nicely worn condition. No holes. These carpets were traditionally made by Ersari nomads. They lived on the grasslands in Turkmenistan, between northern Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. These carpets are often attributed to Afghanistan, but as you can see above, that was only a small part of this people. Bochara is the capital of Uzbekistan, the place along the Silk Road where these nomads sold their carpets – hence the name. ---