Turkmen_Carpet_Museum
Turkmen Carpet Museum
National museum in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
The Turkmen Carpet Museum or the National Carpet Museum is a national museum, situated on 5 Gorogly Street in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
The museum opened on 24 October 1994.[1] It has the largest collection of Turkmen carpets of any museum.[2] It has a rich collection of Turkmen carpets from the medieval through to the 20th century,[3] including over 1000 carpets from the 18th and 19th centuries.[4][5] Aside from its extensive collection of antique carpets, it has many carpet articles, chuvals, khurjuns, torba etc.[6]
On the first floor of the museum are Tekke and Sarik carpets. The museum is noted for its huge Tekke carpets. One Tekke carpet measures 193m² and weighs a tonne and was made by some 40 people in 1941 to make a curtain for the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.[6][7] Another, made in 2001, is even larger, measuring 301m² and 14 by 21.2 metres and was made to commemorate 10 years of Turkmen independence from the Soviet Union.[8] It is recognised by the Guinness World Records as the largest hand-woven carpet in the world.[7] One carpet, made in 1968, is representative of all the tribes in Turkmenistan, fusing together the different styles to display unity. The museum also has carpets dedicated to President Niyazov.[7] Some of the carpets on display are two-sided, often featuring different design on each side.[9]