An Afshar 'Animal Design' Weft Brocaded Single Bag, South Persia

AN AFSHAR 'ANIMAL DESIGN' WEFT BROCADED SINGLE BAG, SOUTH PERSIA, LATE 19TH CENTURY “Brocaded animal forms (antelopes) in various colours are organised in diagonal rows over a camel wool plain-weave ground. The warps and wefts are of equal thickness and not compressed as in most kelims. Further brocading is used for the two borders surrounding the main field with no plain weave visible. The inner border is formed of interlocking tuning-fork shapes in alternating green and red colours. The outer border is in reciprocal diamond shapes in dark blue and white. There is an additional upper decorative band consisting of a horizontal row of animals again brocaded on a camel-wool plain weave ground. This band has minor guards of single or double-countered rows of weft twining in two colours. There is no closure area in this saddlebag. The back of the bag is mostly of camel wool plain weave, with two bands of further brocaded decoration near the end. Both ends are folded and hemmed. This bag has been opened out and there are no original selvedges.” (Benjamin, op.cit., LITERATURE: 3rd ed., 2004, pp. 64-65 “Brocaded bags of this type are rare as they were not usually exported and usually worn out through use. This is a particularly beautiful example. Camel-coloured wool relates to Beluch weaving from the other side of the Lut desert.” (Benjamin, op.cit., p. 64)