Guide to Lori Bags

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Luri Bag Face Fars Region Rippon Boswell

Links of Importance

Pile Bag with Pile at wear point

One of the interesting points seen in Luri pieces is the use of pile at wear points to decrease the deleterious effects of abrasion. This can be seen in pile faces pieces such as the The Cocoon Small Persian Bag to the right. If you follow the link to the bag you can see that the front is all pile but that there is a clearly designed primary motif area and a secondary skirt at the bottom that provides additional wear surface at the bottom where the bag would wear if it were used loaded on an animal. Since the Luri and Bahktiari migrated longer then most tribes it may be utilitarian in nature.

Back - The Cocoon Small Persian Bag

Luri Bahktiari Camel Double Bag

Sumac Bag with Pile at Wear Points

The Luri Bahktiari Camel Double Bag is one of the heaviest bags I have ever seen. This is suitable for haul rock or rock salt. The thick pile at the places where the bag is most likely to abrade.

Unusual Pile and Sumac Bags

Sometimes the rational for while pile and sumac are mixed are not as obvious. The Marvadim Luri Bag to the right is from the Veramin area and the top portion is sumac and the bottom is pile. If this were like the ones we see from Southwest Persia then we might expect that the pile pile panel would have been folded and part of the back is missing. However that does not seem to be the case since I have never seen wear traces to support such use.

The Marvadim Luri Bag

Luri Bahktiari Saddle Bag

Luri Bahktiari Saddle (Khordjin) Bags are likely to use loop and slit closures. This is often called a Persian Zipper.

Note the fine work in this bag. Bags are a way for a woman to store wealth. In the west we usually think of a bag as something in which to put things however Luri weavers make elaborate bags in good times as a way to hold value until bad times when the bag is to be sold. Of course many fine bags are made expressly to sell but some of the finest are made as a hedge against future problems. The best work is generally made to keep and things made for commerce like the subtle details. If this is of interest be sure to read Lois Beck's book Nomad A Year in the Life of a Qashqai Tribesmen in Iran. There are many parallels between the Luri and the Qashqai weavers who were neighbors.

Salt Bags

Luri weavers make salt bags. The question comes up sometimes why do some trines weave salt bags and others do not. It is rather simple actually. The salt is not for human consumption it is for sheep. Shepherds would carry bags like this when grazing sheep in the higher elevations. By giving the sheep rock salt they would drink large amounts of water and then be able to graze in areas uphill from the springs for longer periods of time. Since forage near water is quickly depleted the longer the sheep could spend eating between watering the greater their ability to gain weight. Why don't some tribes weave salt bags? Because their shepherds do not need them.

A good salt bag is tightly woven and is water resistant. The long neck folds over the body of the bag to keep out moisture.

Luri Bahktiari Salt Bag

Kerman Luri Sumac Bag

Bedding Bags

Luri weavers produce a wide range of bag types. The Kerman Luri Sumac Bag to the left is a bedding bag and is sometimes called a envelope bag in the trade.

The bag is a flat bag like a juval and is closed with loop and slit closures

Camel or Grain Bags

There is a group of bags that are longer then wide. Thhis Luri Bahktiari Camel Bag is 2 foot 9 inch across by 3 foot 5 inch long. If it were wider than tall I would call it a bedding bag. As it is the most probable use is as a Camel bag. If it were wider than tall I would call it a bedding bag. I note that it is similar too but wider than the grain bags or Balishts that the Baluch weave.