Fan?
 

I think it's a fan...
Does anyone know where its origin lies?
I tried looking in the web for similar woven design but wasn't successful, but then it could be pieces of used carpet sewn onto a piece of plaited bamboo.
The silver embellishments could be a clue, if recognizable.
It seems to have been used quite a bit, judging by the wear on the handle.
Any ideas?

I've seen beaded edge trimming on Central Asian bags, sometimes attributed to the Belouch. The silver recalls some Afghan/Turkoman amulet cases, but it is only reminiscent, not identical. The fabric again recalls some Afghan textiles I've seen, but again, there is not, to my eye, a congruence, merely an approximation.

Still, overall impression would put it on the Silk Road between western China and the Caspian. Not very specific, I'm afraid, but better to err on the side of too broad rather than too narrow.

HI I WOULD ATTRIBUTE THIS TO TURKMENISTAN OR UZBEKISTAN,CHEERS

Thanks guys for narrowing down the area.
At least I know which part of Asia it hails from.

Brilliant Rug Website...
 

Salaams Kino, look at www.spongobongo.com as what I believe the worlds leading research rugs and textiles up and down the silk road website ever ...and it grows and grows...The author has converted the entire site into a personal encyclopedia of research into all things rug and textile... It is brilliant.
I commend this work to Forum.
In Oman a similar woven but much simpler item is used to waft the embers of a fire into flame ...It's called a Fahm. On the silk road you can still find items similar to yours and where even the stick is similar...I wondered if the stick took its design from the arrow.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Thank you ibrahiim.
I will be visiting that site shortly.

All I can say is that I can see the Central Asian attribution and that it is beautiful! :D

and....

The Indian/ Moghul artwork depicting Madonna and Child shows a similar fan...Totally by accident I discovered that and the strange square pad in the centre of the project fan and I wondered if this was a throwback to the shield wrist pad. I have seen what appears to be ground pads or miniature mats for teapots and cups similarly decorated but I show this square of textile from the back of a shield for interest.

:shrug:

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

These forms of fans are usually from India, but the design on Kino's example originates from further north in Central Asia...

Salaams Colin Henshaw ~I agree with that and I was considering the arrow form to the right of the fan as being possibly Kazak....A lot of the styles have by now fused across boundaries but I think the Moghul style shows some remarkable likeness in construction and I am certain that all the way down the silkroad similar items can be still found...note the almost identical wooden rod on which the fan is set.

For an example of the arrow flight form see http://www.persiancarpetguide.com/sw...ge/Gend998.htm
Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.