Bench - Mafrash (tas) - Wool

Mafrash of the Shahsevan nomads.
Specially made from kelim fabric that they produced on a primitive loom in the tent.

At the beginning of the 20th century, about 100 years ago, these nomads still roamed.
South Azerbaijan and North Iran with their livestock.
These people lived very autonomously.
The livestock was the foundation of their entire economy.
Women held a socially strong position and made their own carpets, kelims, and soumacks from their own wool, dyed with homemade dyes from plants.
The tradition and the patterns are centuries old.

Mafrassen are made with an open top and a flap that can be secured.
This has an open top that I turned upside down and placed over a box for the display.
You can make a box yourself to use as a bench.

A mafrash was made to serve as a bag for carrying household items when the group moved on.
In the tent, it could be used upside down (as shown in the photo here) to sit on as a bench or pouf.
Made for own use and in a tradition in which these women were proud of their culture and work, which was reflected in the quality.
This mafrash is about 100 years old and still looks very fresh and good.
In very good condition.

Loops that you see on the underside are made of very strong horsehair and are intended to close the Mafrash.