trade goods were laid out in every corner of the bazaar : sturdy sacks of cotton canvas standing upon the ground full of grains and rare spices and dried fruit ; bolts of silks in queer many-colored patterns of no meaning , neither flowers nor any other image ; gleaming treasure-vault walls of stacked chests , with strips of brass hammered on like gilding ; bright copper jugs hanging and white conical jars half-buried in the ground , for keeping water cool ; and notably many wooden stands displaying an impressive array of knives , their hilts cunningly worked , some inlaid and jeweled , and the blades long and curving and wicked .