Posted by Steve Price on January 05, 1999 at 11:38:28:
Dear Friends,
I thought you might enjoy seeing this embroidered silk Uzbek bag, probably a purse. It's 4" x 6", and the opposite face has the same design in different colors.
A friend suggested that it might be a tobacco pouch, but there is no tobacco odor in it. The cords leading off it terminate in red tassels. They are most likely for suspending the bag from a sash or belt, and one pair puckers the opening when pulled.
The dyes appear to be natural, although the orange in the edge finish is a bit exuberant. This may be a result of the way silk takes dyes, its reflectivity tending to brighten colors more than wool does.
At a talk at the Textile Museum (Washington) a few years ago, Harold Keshishian referred to a bag as "sweet". This one evokes that kind of response from me.
Steve Price