Huge Baluchi pushti (?) of uncertain age.

[PaulSmith Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close PaulSmith]

I am not often confused by a Baluch, but this one confused me. First off, it's huge. 44" x 27". It looks like a balisht, but it is much larger--so, one question is... what IS this? It has very little in the way of age patina, and being a utility sort of weaving, the absence of wear is suspect.



My guess is that it is fairly recent (mid/late 20th-c?), though the colors and drawing appear traditional, which is not something I'm used to seeing in mid-century-and-later Baluchis. In my experience, there is always some weird color or odd nontraditional elements in the design, or the blue doesn't look like this--it'll be that weird purplish blue, or a dull blue. The blue ground, aubergine, and deep saturated red look righteous, but, while the pile colors behaved in the wash, the back shed wine color, which fortunately did not pollute the front.



One suspicious color is the red. It is stable, but intense. Still, not one of those ELECTRIC synthetic colors. The photo above doesn't really catch it. Here is a more accurate version showing the pile from the back... Again it doesn't look like any of the standard synthetic reds I'm used to seeing, but I am not sure...



So, I would be especially interested to hear from those of you with some experience with the range of 20th-c. Baluchi bags, whether this piece is familiar. But I appreciate any and all insights.

Thanks, Paul

[PaulSmith Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close PaulSmith]

Hm... crickets...

Well, I really wanted to know more about this piece and so I posted in another rug forum, where the consensus was (thus far) that this is a balisht (though I think that is still dubious), and that it is 1st-quarter 20th-c. (aka, "5th-quarter" 19th-c.). I just thought I'd share that, since anyone who's curious might want to know, as I did.

[Joe Lawrence Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Joe Lawrence]

Thanks for the update Paul. I was very curious about your piece since I was recently in a similar situation with the piece I posted. I went through all my books and didn’t find anything.

[Chuck Wagner Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Chuck Wagner]

Hi Paul,

We have several boleshts, all of which are stowed and none of which have their dimensions recorded anywhere. I don;t think any of them are quite as wide as yours. Most were purchased because of the work on the back rather than the front. But I have photos, which I'll put up in a day or so. It's been hectic here. For what it's worth, I agree with the 20th century part. Who knows, it could be as late as the 1950s or 60s.

Chuck

[Joe Lawrence Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Joe Lawrence]

In the book “Rugs & Carpets from Central Asia” by Elena Tzareva, page 213, there is a similar piece that is listed as a “tent bag” by the Baluch tribe. The size and side weave are nearly identical along with the top of the piece.