This Soumak saddlebag is a stunningly beautiful vintage tribal textile, with wool pile and cotton foundation. The colours are still vibrant & strong, and the hand-woven geometric patterning is skilfully & intricately executed.
Such geometric designs often contain tribal motifs specific to particular regions. Soumak is said to derive its name from the town of Shemakja, in the Caucasus region, but it also refers to a particular weaving technique. Historically found in tribal regions such as Anatolia, and Afghanistan. Soumak is a flat-weave textile, but unlike Kilim technique. The woven threads are not cut off at the back of the piece, but hang at a length of 2-4cm. This creates a thicker & more durable textile, and means that the pattern is only visible from one side. Soumak also lacks the characteristic slits of kilim, as it is usually woven with supplementary weft threads that provide continuous supports. The technique involves wrapping coloured weft threads over and under the warp threads, adding strength to the textile. Like most other hand-woven rugs from Turkey and the surrounding areas, Soumak rugs are woven with skills that have been passed down through a family, from generation to generation. This means that Soumak rugs are of the absolute highest quality, far superior to anything that is machine-made.
It also means that each rug is unique. This particular saddlebag is tightly woven, which means that it would make really stunning & hard-wearing floor rug, as well as a feature wall hanging. Whichever way, this is a wonderful and collectable piece. It is hand woven and hand knotted with 100% wool, on a cotton foundation, and has a knotted pile section along the bottom of each pouch. There are decorative borders along each pouch/bag opening, with slits for ropes to close and secure each pouch/bag.
There are a few of the ropes missing, but this does nothing to detract from the beauty of this piece. For a vintage working textile, this spectacular piece is in amazing. I believe this saddle bag originates from 1940s.
Please view all images as they serve to provide additional information & condition of the item, and are to be considered as part of the description. PLEASE NOTE: Actual Product may differ slightly in colour than the photographs due to natural light conditions and depending upon differing screen resolutions & monitors. The item "Vintage & Original Soumak Complete Camel Saddlebag, circa 1940s" is in sale since Tuesday, June 22, 2021. This item is in the category "Collectables\Ethnographic Collectables\Other Ethnographic". The seller is "kate**katie" and is located in Brixham.
This item can be shipped to United Kingdom.
- Modified Item: No
- Type: Textile