[All of our pictures enlarge; click on any picture for a closer look. Text & images protected by copyright.] Carpets, tent and camel trappings, and other knotted pile textiles woven by the Turkmen tribes of Central Asia are some of the most widely admired and passionately collected of all “oriental rugs”. They are also among the most challenging to comprehend. The relative geographic and linguistic remoteness of the Turkmen coupled with a complex history of tribal movement and interaction have created barriers to the study of Turkmen weaving. Furthermore, the clues used to determine when, where, and by what tribe a rug was made – design, color palette, weave structure, and yarn – often combine in ways that fall outside the norms of identified tribal types. This carpet, which combines design features derived from certain Persian rugs, a Turkmen color sensibility, and atypical yarn usage is one of these idiosyncratic examples. The many questions still surrounding Turkmen weavings only add to their mystery and fascination. The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco holds a collection of Turkmen carpets and related trappings from Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and northeast Iran that is one of the finest in the world. The skill and artistry of Turkmen weavers is clearly evident in this key example. The majority of the Museums’ works are gifts from George and Marie Hecksher, H. McCoy Jones, Caroline McCoy-Jones, and Wolfgang and Gisela Wiedersperg. Carpet Northeast Iran, unidentified Turkmen tribe, 18th century Wool, cotton; knotted pile (symmetrical knot) 89 ½ x 66 in. (227.3 x 167.6 cm) de Young Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco- Gift of George and Marie Hecksher, 2000.186.16