Description

This late 19th-century Afshar bag, one half of a khorjin, or a double-sided bag, is a real jewel.

It is most likely from the Sirjan area in Kerman Province.

Its field design is a grid of six botehs arranged in two columns. The botehs are filled with floral motifs and, unusually, a shield or “demon-head” design at the bottom (see Parviz Tanavoli, Afshar. Tribal Weaves from Southeast Iran. MATN Institute for Authorship, Translation and Publication of Artistic Works, Iranian Academy of Arts 2010, p.153. The illustration shows a very similar bag face, albeit with the soumak and loop ends missing.). The vertical lines form dramatic partitions between the botehs. This weaver clearly had a strong sense of effect and impact, which can also be seen in the bold choice of colours, all naturally dyed. Flanking the main meandering border are two guard stripes with a zig-zag design.

The plain red  kelim back is fairly coarse compared to the fine weave of the pile front. Soumak finishes off the bag at the top, with original loops in wool and goat hair.

This bag was in our exhibition of TRIBAL WEAVINGS. BAGS, RUGS AND CARPETS FROM IRAN AND CENTRAL ASIA as part of the CADA Exhibition week in April 2022.

SOLD