oturn home > Rugs: index page > Luri half khorjin complete with back, 19th, early 20th c.

rug no longer available Luri half khorjin complete with back, 19th, early 20th c.

Click on image to view in larger size.

Luri half khorjin with back - click to see enlarged view

Design and attribution

Saddle bags (khorjins) of this type are commonly attributed to the Luri, a Southern Persian nomadic tribe. This is one complete side of was once a double bag hanging across the back of a donkey, camel, or horse.

The design is executed in a coarse but sturdy weave and has a slightly improvised feel, especially in the way the four blossoms (crowned by a tiny blue blossom) sit in the centre of the red diamond medallion with hooked outlines. The dark blue ground shows similar stylized blossom motives strewn loosely across. I believe the meander border a coarse version of dragons-in-tow border type, rendered very lively through the white outline and the internal checkerboard patterning in red, green and blue which seems to echo the checkerboard pattern of closing panel and weft-subsitution back. The borders negative spaces form pairs of red hourglass-type triangles which resonate with the triangular endings of the 'latch hooks' around the medallion. Indeed a simple but pleasant design repertoire.

Based on the colours and structure I think an origin around 1900 is likely—but may be the bag is as late as 1920.

Structure

The Lori half khorjin measures ca. 21.5 in. x 22.5 in. (57 x 55 cm). The pile-woven front has symmetrical knots, no warp depression, a coarse weave 6.h,7.v = ca. 42 kpsi. Two weft shoots of madder-red wool, the warps are blackish brown and grey wool mixed with some white. The dark brown is very bristly, could be goat hair. Quite a heavy and dense weave, but not inflexible.

The striped and extremely sturdy back is carried out in a weft-substitution weave forming stripes of irregular width which each employ two alternating colours.

Colours

The dyes are probably all natural, very saturated, with no bleeding. Various shades of madder red, a saturated yellow, dark and medium indigo blue, blue-green, dark brown, and off-white. The yellow has faded a bit on the front due to the exposure to light (it is usually more prone to fading than madder and indigo). After all, this bag has likely been used in a tribal context, as evidenced by the characteristic traces of wear.

Condition

Good condition overall, with some uneven wear mainly at the sides and especially the bottom area of the bag, and in the central medallion — not very distracting though (look at the images). I can no repairs. The pile is longer towards the edges and progressively shorter towards the centre where it is down to knot heads. The grey-brown warps show a little in a few areas. The checkerboard-type weft-substitution weave of the closing panels shows slight fading on the front when compared to the back side, probably due to abrasion.

More images

Luri half khorjin with back -  field

Luri half khorjin with back - field detail

Luri half khorjin with back -  front closing

Luri half khorjin with back - front detail

Luri half khorjin with back -  inside view

Luri half khorjin with back - border detail

Luri half khorjin with back - pile fold

Luri half khorjin with back - back

Luri half khorjin with back - back detail

Last update: 15 April 2007 | Impressum—Imprint