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A TEKKE WOMAN'S
HEADDRESS
TURKMENISTAN, CIRCA 1930
Handspun and handwoven
cotton, hand embroidered with
silk thread, natural dyes
Length 41.5 in (106 cm), End
width 30.5 in (78 cm)
$ 6,065 - 9,095
Rs 4,00,000 - 6,00,000
Turkoman woman wearing headdress,
northern Iran
The Tekke are Turkoman, a people
of mixed Turkic and Iranian
descent. The women are prolific
embroiders skilfully working their
needles over children’s caps,
camel trappings, purses and a
variety of dress.
Probably the most splendid of
these is the
chyrpy
, a coat draped
over the head and shoulders like a
cloak. The sleeves of the garment
are usually vestigial, tapering
flaps they are tied at the back
and linked together half-way by
a small strip of embroidered or
woven cloth known as
gerbi
.
The
chyrpy
are usually made in
dark colours, yellow and white.
Young women wear them with
a blue or black ground; older
women with a yellow ground and
those of high status with a white
ground. The
chyrpy
is profusely
embroidered with almost the
entire ground colour covered
in exquisite stitches. There are
numerous floral designs, motifs of
tulips of which Central Asia is well
known. More common are ram’s
horns and geometric devices
along the edges of the headdress
and on the arms, with a fringe on
the edge at the bottom and on
the sleeves. The finest work is
reserved for the lapels.
Jasleen Dhamija acquired this
chyrpy
, made for a young woman
to wear on special occasions, in
Tehran in the 1970s.