Mae Festa 50 Years of Collecting Textiles - Peter Pap Oriental Rugs

MIDDLE EAST – Iran
Bag Face (Khorjin)
19 th Century
Luri, North Central Iran
Natural wool, weft faced plain weave, 7-in
wide pile band at bottom. Closure strip at top.
100 x 81 cm 39 x 32 in
In Iran, tribal power long acted as a centrifugal force,
demanding frequent manipulation by central powers.
One measure the rulers employed to undermine the
influence of the nomads was forcibly moving them to
different geographic locations. Some Lur groups known
as “Luri from Fars”, were moved from the Zagros
mountains area in southwest Iran to the plains of
Varamin just south of Tehran. This bag face, half of
a double bag intended to be used on a donkey or mule,
was probably woven by just such displaced Lurs.
Many of the techniques used in the bag, like the band
of pile at the bottom, and the interlocked tapestry
portion, are very much like “Luri/Bakhtiari” weaving
from southwest Iran. Only the coloring is different.
Luri and Bakhtiari “Zagros” weaving has more somber
reds, yellows and greens, whereas this piece has really
rosy reds and light greens.
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