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Anatolian woolen grain
sacks, best known by the Turkish term "chuval", were at one time
frequently encountered in villages. Being utilitarian objects, they
were often made of undyed striped wool, a typical characteristic of
nomad transport bags from Morocco to the western Chinese border. But
decorated examples such as this one, with its alternating bands of
sumakh and colored plainweave on one side and ivory alternating with
colored plainweave on the other, appear in many collections of
Anatolian weavings.
This chuval has good color and drawing. It has clearly seen domestic
use, preserved today just as it was found in a Turkish village.
Rodents have chewed holes in the bottom to access its contents, the
piece has not been opened up, and the warp-faced plainweave straps,
used to lift the bag, are still intact. It was purchased together
with a second piece which has straps cut from the same band as on
the illustrated example.
Sack-shaped bags with the dimensions of this piece were more
commonly used in Anatolia than elsewhere and appear with a broad
range of technique and decoration.
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