Turkmen Nomadic Tribal Khorjin Double-Sided Wool Saddle Bag Rug with Tie Strings. A rare object, used by nomads to store goods during their long journeys, utilizing very simple geometric patterns in stunning red hues. 

Condition: Excellent. 

Size: 24 1/4 x 53 in. 

A khorjin is a type of smaller decorative carpet bag made across Greater Iran and Central Asia, specifically for the easy transportation of items during migration. Hand-knotted carpets and hand woven kilims (flatwoven textiles) were made by various nomadic tribes of the Middle East including the Baloch, the Turkmen, the Afshars, the Bakhtyari, the Qashqai, the Kurds, and many others. The bags and the larger rugs were woven in the same techniques as most rugs, but included variants to build pocket spaces into the sides with a particularly strongly woven section in the center, which laid across the back of camels, horses, and other beasts of burden. The most common technique is hand-knotted pile, but many tribal bags were also done in the various flat woven techniques including plain weave (kilim weave), the Soumak technique, and other less common techniques, reflecting the wide influence of styles that the nomads encountered in their travels. They range in size from small pouches for valuable personal possessions to larger handbags and saddlebags. Bags were also used as storage containers, to carry tents, Qur’ans, mirrors, food, and much more. Often the bags are known by specific names based on the function they served, such as “cuval” (camel bag), “khorjin” (literally meaning double-sided donkey bags), “taache” (grain bag), and “mafrash” (bedding bag), to name just a few. The back panel of a bag will often have little or no design, and is made extremely sturdy but with light colors to limit heat transference and wear on the hide of the animals. Collectors highly prize these items, as they are often not sold in market as traditional Oriental or Persian rugs are, but are kept as functional objects and even heirlooms, sometimes passed down through generations of the tribe.

Excellent.