Storage Bag (Chuval) Face

Identifiable by the unique design vocabulary adopted by each Turkmen tribal group, these rare and important textiles are one of only a few known works attributable to the Arabatchi Turkmen. Although identical in technique to that used for carpet weaving, these fragments once formed the faces of a chuval, a type of deep storage bag. Suspended from the trellislike structure of a Turkmen tent interior, these chuval served to hold family belongings— somewhat akin to a wardrobe, but eminently more portable.

Credit: The James F. Ballard Collection, Gift of James F. Ballard, 1922