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Many single bags once
had shoulder straps, even if they are now missing. In Iran, some
single bags were called "tubre" (feed sack, bag), according to
German dealer/author Hamid Sadighi. Some small single bags without
straps must have simply been thrown into larger khorjin or bedding
bags for transport.
Bags like this one, complete with its multicolored, striped,
weft-faced plainweave back, would have been used by either men or
women. The hand-forged iron ring (see detail 2 below), sewn onto the upper edge with goathair, was probably an anchor for a carrying strap. More
commonly, these rings - or loops - are braided goathair.
On the smooth surface of this bag’s front, the weaver’s use of fine
weft-substitution weave1 makes possible the intricate
design, which is enhanced by the strong clear coloration. Although
the bands of weft-substitution feature a repeat pattern, color
variation prevents it from being boring. This technique, although
often used in the Maghrib and in Iran by Baluch and Afshar weavers,
is not particularly common in Qashqa’i bags.
RET
1) For more information on weft-substitution weaves, see Mallett,
M., Woven Structures, A guide to Oriental Rug and textile
Analysis, Atlanta, 1998, pages 83-85. |
