What would the faces of a khorjin look like if one had been used and the other stored away?
This rhetorical question has been asked many times over the years.
One might separate the faces and use one face as a pillow or rug and put the other one away for, say 20 years or so.
While we are waiting for volunteers to begin such a study, it may be instructional to consider this pair of Kudish bags serendipitously subjected to just such a regimen:
They are both approximately 24" wide x 22" tall and appear to be the two sides of the same khorjin. They were purchased as a pair bought in the early 1920's in Iran by the grandparents of the former owners. The presence of some faded dyes and the "degenerate" design would comfortably place the date of weaving in the first quarter of the 20th century.
Somewhere along the way the closure panels were "modified" so the closure cords would come out in the flatweave panels instead of between them. This was probably to accommodate their use as stuffed pillows.
Speculation regarding the different appearance of the two bags includes the possibility that they remained a pair and one side faced the sun, draped over a piece of furniture. Or perhaps the faded bag was used in the conservatory and the darker one used in the library.
Your own thoughts are solicited.
Patrick Weiler