Sumak and pile large bedding bag panel, Bakhtiari tribe, West Persia, Circa 1900, 122 x 114 cm (48 x 45 in.) Knot count: 16 wrapping wefts/inch. 11 h x 8 v = 88 kpsi. Colours: rust, maroon, light blue, dark blue, lighy yellow, blue-green, tan, dark brown, ivory (10). Condition: complete half bag, displaying from top to bottom the side and the bottom of the bedding bag. As noted in one of my favourite carpet books of all time (James Opie, ‘Tribal Rugs of Southern Persia’, Portland 1981, p. 148) it is quite remarkable that weavers would put so much effort in decorating the lower part of the bag, a side which is not normally seen. This prompted the Persian trade of the 60’s to divide these bags in four sections: the two narrower side panels, the joined side/bottom wider panel (like this example) and the single wider side panel.