Another purchase from Turkey - this time a bag that is far from being the most beautiful I've ever seen, but one that is full of interest. Double-fronted chantehs in pile are not very common, and this example, using a standard 'bird's-head medallion' motif that mirrors itself, shows the evidence of at least two changes of plan on the part of the weaver. The way the second image reads indicates the fall of the symmetrical knots, so the weaver started with the pile 'Qashqai frieze', which she didn't use at the other end. There is also a change of weft and a shift in the design of the borders. One of the things I like about this bag is the coarse repair - very probably a practical tribal effort, as no dealer or restorer would try to get away with anything so unskilled. It measures 49 by 29 cms, and is probably Luri.
