Turkmenistan
Hello, I'm Ogulgerek
Annayeva
I am a mathematician who became a carpet weaver. The gul medallions of Turkmen tradition are my alphabet. I use silk when the pattern calls for a finer hand.
Ogulgerek Annayeva comes from a family of Turkmen carpet weavers whose patterns have been passed down through generations of women. The sacred octagonal guls — geometric medallions that function as tribal identity markers — are the foundation of her visual language. A trained mathematician turned textile artist, she brings rare analytical precision to forms that are simultaneously ancient and endlessly complex.
The gul is not a flower. People translate it that way because it is easier. But the gul is a seal. An identity. Every Turkmen tribe had its own gul — its own octagonal signature — pressed into the ground of a carpet to say: this is who we are. I studied mathematics before I studied carpet weaving. The precision of the gul is mathematical precision — each arm of the octagon exactly equal, each internal diamond exactly proportioned. A small error in the center becomes a large error at the edge. When I began planning the kelaghayi galib for this collection, I used a compass and ruler first. Then I carved it on linden, then pear wood, then a very dense piece of walnut I found at a furniture workshop. The walnut held the finest lines best. I know that Narmin Hasanova’s family has been pressing stamps into silk for five generations. Five generations of accumulated precision. The mathematicians of Ashgabat have nothing on a kelaghayi master from Shaki. I say this with genuine respect.
— Ogulgerek Annayeva, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
The motif
Turkmen gül — tribal seal
Turkmenistan · carpet tradition · tribal identity
The Gul Collection
The Gul Collection
Turkmen gul carpet motifs on silk · 15 pieces
15 pieces
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