CIRCA: 1900 / early 1900’s
A striking Lakai embroidered ‘shield bag’ (kap ilgich). The Lakai are an Uzbek-speaking tribe that were once nomadic but have now mostly settled in towns or villages in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and northern Afghanistan. These shield shaped hangings were generally made as dowry gifts and were meant to hang inside a yurt or other dwellings where they were used as decorations and / or for storage of various personal items. The very finely worked embroidery is done here in polychrome silks on a red wool ground, the two main central motifs using the chain-stitched method and the edge bands using the cross stitched method. Made circa 1900, the size of the shield itself is 24cm wide x 48cm long with the tassels adding an extra +/-12cm (i.e. 60cm overall length). These type of pieces were prizes possession and would have been passed on from generation to generation. ALREADY SOLD