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This sort of bag is described at some length
by Kate Fitz Gibbon and Andy Hale in their Hali article.1
It is the classic ilgitsh or
“mirror bag” form, although Fitz Gibbon and Hale suggest that
most of these were essentially decorative, being too flimsily made
to suit their ostensible purpose. This example is somewhat earlier
than most now seen. Although attributed to the Lakai, it is far more
directly beholden to urban forms than most “classic” Lakai pieces.
Since many Lakai were sedentary and they were dispersed over a large
territory, it is not surprising that such variations would occur.
The decoration of the field is given graphic punch by the strong
black outlining, which generates an interesting figure-ground
tension. It otherwise consists of two alternating principal
medallions in offset rows, with minor figures in the interstices
that are also set within the semi-pinwheel forms created by the
black outlining. The field could derive from various antecedents
with alternating floral or palmette forms, although here they tend
to look rather like shields. The mina khani field design of Persian
rugs seems a possible source. This idea of a source in rug design is
supported, if only adventitiously, by the manner in which
cross-stitching is reminiscent of knotting. Although this technique
is not quite as flexible as the other forms of embroidery, it can be
employed more fluidly than in this piece, as is demonstrated in the
small bags in No. 40. The border consists of schematized flowering
plants with boteh-like flower heads derived from Indian textiles.
They proceed in four alternating colors against a black ground.
The field is composed with great care, the first major figure in
light blue dominating the corners and center, present
again in rose at the
center of each edge while four white figures guard the central one.
The second principal medallion is united with the border by virtue
of the presence of similar abstract flowering plants at the center
of each. The secondary medallions seem to be losing their coherence,
yet they sport little red flowering plants (with , however, only one
set of “leaves”). These plants point upwards in the two lower ranks
and downwards in the two upper ranks, keeping the careful symmetry
of the design intact. Characteristically, a full nine colors are
used to form the palette; however, an emphasis on strong contrasts
helps keep the design from being insipid. Again, the corrosive
crimson wool so common in Uzbek embroideries of the later 19th
century is present. Light green and aubergine are only added for
detailing, such as the green crosses with yellow centers at the
center of each major medallion of the first type.
The back is composed of three different examples of imported printed
cotton, one simply across the top, another striped example with
floral patterning forming the principal part, a third visible at the
bottom, lying beneath the second.
JBS
1) Fitz Gibbon, Kate & Andrew Hale, “The
Bad Beys of Central Asia,” Hali 75, June-July 1994, pp. 70-76
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