wonder if this wise old afghan rug dealer is still in chaman.......... turkoman storage sack which is very rare and dates from the first half of the 20th century. The bag is the work of Turkoman weavers from the village of Labijar in the far north of Afghanistan on the border with Turkmenistan. There are two villages separated by a canal which forms the border. The decorative work on both front and back of the bag (shown here) is very fine, varied and detailed. The original fastening loops at the top are present as is the top kilim border with its slits which allow the loops to close the bag when full. This will make an outstanding contribution to a collection of Turkoman work - i know of no similar piece and can not find anything in the rug literature which is related. Bought from a primitive rug shed on the Quetta to Kandahar road near Chaman in the mid 1980s. Reference 0297. Size 154 x 96 cms., or 5ft. 1ins. x 3ft. 2ins