This Uzbek textile measures 8.2 cm x 52 cm, 8.2 cm x 89 cm with the string. Depicting rosettes in long and short stitch and cross stitch in silk thread on a black cotton ground, this Uzbek puttee dates from the mid 20th century and is in excellent condition. Puttees are a strip of cloth wound spirally around the leg from ankle to knee.

A pair of puttees from northern Afghanistan, hand-embroidered by Uzbek women. Each puttee measures 8.4 cm x 48 cm (3 1/4 x 19 inches)and is hand-embroidered in silk thread on a red cotton ground. The embroidery technique is long and short stitch, typical of Uzbek embroidery. Condition: excellent, no stains, no flaws of any kind. The puttee with the braided thread measures 48 cm x 47 cm.

An old Uzbek puttee dating from the 1950s or 1960s. Silk embroidery on an ivory linen ground, embroidered in long and short stitch, the trademark of Uzbek embroidery. Condition is very good, some staining on one side. It measures 8.3 cm x 58 cm (w/o string). The string measures 31 cm. Puttees are a strip of cloth wound spirally around the leg from the ankle to the knee.

The embroidery of Baluchistan is called "doch" and is unique in its intricate repetitive geometric patterns and colors. This woman's dress yoke from Baluchistan ("pashk kurta") features a repertoire of densely embroidered patterns in silk thread on a dark blue silk background. Extremely fine satin stitch combined with herringbone stitch in silk thread, some metallic, along with buttonhole stitching, depicting geometric motifs...

A child's cap from Indus Kohistan which is part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as NWFP). Some of the finest embroidery of this region comes from the area between Patan and Komila, where small settlements beside tributaries of the Indus produce embroidered costume and small bags worked in minute cross stitch and tent stitch. This cap with its beaded tassle is very typical of the region in its use of pompoms, buttons, white beading, and incredibly fine petit point stitch in silk thread...

This woven textile is from Tibet. Measuring 21.8 x 376 cm, it is in excellent condition. The high lustre of the wool is attributed to the high lanolin content of the goat wool in the high altitude regions of the Tibetan plateau. Enlargement #12 shows the use of these sashes in traditional Tibetan nomadic culture (© 1995 East of Lo Manthang by Peter Matthiessen and Thomas Laird)...

Freely executed floral motifs in vivid colors adorn this hand-embroidered napkin from southern Afghanistan. The embroidery technique is satin stitch in silk thread on a fine cotton linen ground. The composition overall is very nicely balanced, with an eight-petaled red flower at the center. This textile measures 41.5 x 43 cm and is in excellent condition.

Embroidered in satin stitch and Holbein stich in red, green and blue silk thread, this Pashtun napkin measures 21 x 22 cm and is dated to the early to mid 20th century. Condition is good overall given the age of this textile, though with a few light brown stains and some missing threads. The repetitive geometric design alternates the embroidered areas with others left unworked, leaving a surprisingly dynamic impression.

Embroidered in satin stitch in silk thread on a fine cotton linen ground, this napkin measures 37.2 x 37.8 cm and is estimated to date from the mid to late 20th century. Such textiles are unique to the Hazara, Shi'ite Muslims who comprise the third largest ethnic group of Afghanistan, forming about 19% of the total population and inhabiting mostly the central provinces of central Afghanistan. This textile is in excellent condition overall with only one small stain.

Varied repeating geometric patterns exquisitely embroidered in satin stitch in silk thread characterize this dress panel from Kandahar province, Afghanistan. Executed in a counted-thread technique in relief on a cotton linen background, the monochrome colors of the thread reflect the light in such a way as to confer a high degree of elegance to this textile which measures 17 x 148 cm and is fully reversible on each side. Condition is perfect, no stains, no holes, no odors...

This is an old prayer cloth from central Afghanistan measuring 35.7 x 35.7 cm. The embroidery technique is satin stitch in silk thread intricately worked on a fine cotton linen ground. These cloths are unique to the Hazara and used to protect the prayer stone from Kerbala, Iraq, which is a holy city of pilgrimmage to the Hazara and other Shi'ite Muslims...

In central Afghanistan where villages are commonly cut off from the rest of the world during the winter months, the time spent by Hazara women in embroidering textiles such as this one is considerable. Depicting eight-pointed stars and triangles densely embroidered in silk thread on a fine cotton linen cloth, this napkin measures 38 x 40.5 cm and is in excellent condition. Estimated age: mid to late 20th century.

The use of long and short stitch in this Hazara textile from central Afghanistan gives a more detailed surface that better reflects the light than satin stitch. Silk thread on a fine cotton ground, the overall design alternates densely embroidered areas with others left unworked. This napkin measures 32.5 x 34.8 cm and is in excellent condition. Estimated age: late 20th century. The continuous supplementary-weft technique makes this textile reversible and either face may be used as the front.

Measuring 14 x 17 cm, this tobacco pouch from Indus Kohistan is embroidered in extremely fine brick stitch, cross stitch and satin stitch in silk thread. The beaded tassled edges are typical of the embroidery of this remote region of Pakistan. Condition is excellent, estimated age mid to late 20th century.

This textile from central Afghanistan was made by Hazara women and depicts the severed hands and shrine of Hazrat Abbas, the half-brother of Hussein ibn Ali, during the battle of Kerbala in Iraq. The scene is embroidered in very fine cross stitch in rayon thread on a polyester background and measures 47 x 59 cm. Condition: Excellent. Estimated age: late 20th century...

This is an old tobacco pouch from Indus Kohistan, a remote area of northern Pakistan located along the Indus river. Cotton embroidered with silk thread, depicting interlocking rhomboids on one face, repeating chevrons on the other, and embellished with beadwork on the edges. The embroidery technique is exceptionally fine brick stitch, closely paralleled in Hazara embroidery...

Strong geometric shapes densely embroidered in satin stich in vibrant colors animate this Hazara textile from central Afghanistan which is estimated to date to the mid 20th century. Silk thread embroidered on a fine cotton linen ground, the patterns are artfully joined into a robust and dynamic unity. Embroidery is an important winter activity for Hazara women who inhabit mountainous central Afghanistan, including Bamiyan, Oruzgan and Ghazni provinces...

Measuring 29.2 x 33.6 cm, this textile is from central Afghanistan, home of the minority Hazara people who are Shi'ite Muslims, inhabiting at least three or four provinces (Jaghori, Bamiyan, Orugzan, Wardak). The embroidery on this textile is exclusively silk herringbone stitch on an ivory cotton linen ground. The textile is in good condition overall with some mild staining. Estimated age: early to mid 20th century.