Persian rugs: The Complete Guide to Persian Rugs

Luri Bahktiari Camel Bag

Buy oriental carpets
100% handmade area carpet and rugs from Tibet.
Modern and traditional design. Armenian too!
www.TufenkianCarpets.com Can't afford Tufenkian Carpets?
Visit the ONLY official Tufenkian carpet outlet.
Discontinued and one of kind rugs.
www.TufenkianOutlet.com Need a custom area rug?

If you can dream it, we can weave it.
Custom area rugs by Tufenkian

Luri Bahktiari Camel Bag

2 foot 9 inch by 3 foot 5 inch.

This is a wonderful old Bahktiari camel bag. The color is extremely good and certainly looks vegetal. As most of you know I tend to be very conservative in dye attribution but this one has the jewel tones and all the right attributes for vegetal dyes. The colors are bright and clear with no fading or dye runs. While this is not conclusive but it is drastically better than later Bahktiari pieces.

I call this a camel bag because at 2 foot 9 inch by 3 foot 5 inch it is slightly longer than wide. As such it's most probable use is as a Camel bag. If it were wider than tall I would call it a bedding bag

Why do I call it Luri Bahktiari and not just Luri? The Bahktiari are a tribal confederation of people who predominantly speak Luri. So the Bahktiari are Luri, but not all Luri are Bahktiari. At the bottom of this bag there are small areas of pile which is typically seen in bags that we attribute to the Luri Bahktiari.

How We Select Our Rugs

Luri Bahktiari Salt Bag , Iran circa 1900. 2 foot 9 inch by 3 foot 5 inch.

Structure: Sumac plain weave and Symmetrical knot. 6 knots per horizontal inch and 6 knots per vertical inch. 36 per square inch (558 per square decimeter)

Yarn Spin: Z.

Warp: 2 ply white wool

Weft: Ground color.

Pile: 2 Wool singles.

Further Notes: The bag is in excellent condition. No holes, or tears, no bleeding. no problems at all. No visible repairs at all.

The back is as pretty as the front.

The colors are fantastic. This is as pretty a piece as you are likely to see. In the nearly cash-less economy that the tribes operated in it was difficult to store wealth in the good times. With no banks or stock market at their disposal women could make oven goods in good times and then sell them in bad times. It is also important to realize that women had a financial stake in the profit and weaving gave her money or trade goods for her own use. There was very limited means by which a women could accumulate wealth.

So by creating beauty a woman could increase he family's net worth as a protection against the bad times.

How Old Is This Piece?

First of all I know where this piece comes from. I purchased a number of pieces from a long time Washington DC area collector who is moving into a smaller home. I was fortunate because she called me on the recommendation of a prestigious area dealer. She had accumulated this piece in the late 60s and early 70s. She bought this piece as antique about 30 years ago and after seeing it in person I have no reason to doubt it.

Why is the Scan so crooked?

The scan is crooked because the bag is stuffed. The collector who owned this for so long, felt strongly that bags are 3 dimensional art and should be displayed as they were used. With the back of the bag as beautiful as the front she certain has a point so I decided to leave them as I bought them. It does however make it difficult to get a good scan. (the high bidder will decide whether to leave this bag stuffed or to display it flat.

For Further Reading: RugNotes Guide to Rugs & Books

Thanks and best wishes,

J. Barry O'Connell Jr.

Persian Rugs Search Engine

Chinese Rugs Guide

Persian Rugs