A Nomadic bag is a bag woven by various

nomadic A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

tribes of the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

for utilitarian and decorative purposes. Hand knotted

carpets A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of pile attached to a backing. The pile was traditionally made from wool, but since the 20th century synthetic fibers such as polypropylene, nylon, or polyester have ...

and hand woven

kilim A kilim ( az, Kilim کیلیم; tr, Kilim; tm, Kilim; fa, گلیم ''Gilīm'') is a flat tapestry- woven carpet or rug traditionally produced in countries of the former Persian Empire, including Iran, the Balkans and the Turkic countries. Ki ...

s (flatwoven textiles) were made by various nomadic tribes of the Middle East and Central Asia, including the Baloch, the Turkmen, the Afshars, the Bakhtyari, the Qashqai, and the

Kurds ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ira ...

, among others. The bags and the larger rugs were woven in the same techniques as The most common technique is hand-knotted pile, but many tribal bags were also done in the various flat woven techniques including

plain weave Plain weave (also called tabby weave, linen weave or taffeta weave) is the most basic of three fundamental types of textile weaves (along with satin weave and twill). It is strong and hard-wearing, and is used for fashion and furnishing fabric ...

(

weave), soumac technique and other less common techniques. Bags were used for transporting goods while on migration, and also served as storage containers to be used in the tent or

yurt A yurt (from the Turkic languages) or ger ( Mongolian) is a portable, round tent covered and insulated with skins or felt and traditionally used as a dwelling by several distinct nomadic groups in the steppes and mountains of Central Asia ...

. There are also specialized bags such as bags for carrying mirrors, bags for carrying the

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...

, bags for carrying tent stakes and more. Often the bags are known by specific names based on the function they served. Some common bag names are "cuval" ( camel bag), "khorjin" (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. On bags with knotted pile faces, the back of the bag will usually be executed in a plain woven

technique.

Bag face

From the collectors point of view, the front or the ''face'' of the bag is much more interesting and more collectible. Often, with antique bags, the backs of the bag have been separated and discarded at some point and only the bagface remains.

Bag face

See also