With children returning to school in the United States, we thought we'd send them off with a wish for good luck for the new academic year! 

In Turkmen and other Central Asian societies, repeating triangles are seen as good luck symbols. Called "tumar," these auspicious triangles adorn all sorts of everyday objects, including clothing, home decorations, and gear for traditional Central Asian nomadic life, like this bag. Made of wool felt and woven woollen fabrics, this bag appears to have been a treasured item: it is covered in dozens of neatly stitched tumar (as well as other shapes and embroidered designs) and was clearly repaired on its upper flap after some of the appliquéd triangles came off.

To learn more about the amuletic properties of Central Asian patchwork, be sure to check out World Quilts: The Central Asian Story.