Turkmen Chirpi Side Panel

This blue chirpi fragment is a side panel of a Chirpy, Tekke Turkomen women’s robe. Women wear these robes (chirpi or chyrpy) over their heads and shoulders like a cloak, with the vestigial sleeves hanging down their backs. Tekke Turkomen women  embroider them with floral designs using a lacing stitch (kesdi). The color of the ground material indicates whether the woman is young and not married (blue), married (yellow) or a widow (white).