Magenta silk thread is worked in mostly horizontal rows with geometric patterns superimposed in random coloring on this child's waistcoat from the early 20th century. It features metallic couching on the top and bottom edges, with blue beads in the front to ward off the evil eye. Satin stitch combines with Holbein and back stitch to accentuate the lozenge designs that cover the entire surface of each panel...

This saye gosha (or segusha) shows the dynamic use of line and vivid color for which Uzbek Lakai embroidery is famous. Saye gosha are V-shaped hangings used to decorate piles of quilts while in storage during the day in the yurt. The Lakai are an Uzbek tribe who currently live around Kunduz in northern Afghanistan. Originally more widespread, they were also once found in what is now Uzbekistan and Tajikistan...

An old prayer napkin from Afghanistan, measuring 10 x 11 inches. It features very fine stitching characteristic of Hazara embroideries - satin stitch on a white linen background, in silk threads (yellow, blue, orange, green and red). The embroidery on the reverse side of this textile is exactly identical to the front side. Estimated age: early to mid 20th century. Condition is excellent except for some minor stain on the reverse side, displayed in the last photo.

This embroidered panel is a ceremonial food cover made by the Lakai, an Uzbek tribe living in small villages near the northern Afghanistan city of Kunduz. The Lakai came to Afghanistan in the 16th century but they were once also found in what is now Uzbekistan and southern Tajikistan. This textile is composed of stylized star and solar shapes embroidered in silk thread in fine angled blanket stitch and chain stitch on a red plain-woven cotton...

Measuring 6 inches x 8 inches (20.5 cm x 14.5 cm) including the beaded fringes, this dazzling purse is from Bamiyan and is probably dated to 1940 or slightly later. The purse features couched metallic threads, gold couching, mirrors, and beaded fringes. An intricate array of curvilinear and geometric designs almost completely covers the dark navy silk background. The purse is lined with silk fabric...

A finely embroidered textile from Afghanistan made by Hazara women, measuring 12 inches by 13 inches. Embroidered in silk thread in mostly filling stich and satin stitch on a white cotton linen background. Although the embroidery designs are geometric and simple, it is the constant change of color on each of the embroidered panels that animates this prayer cloth ("mohr posh"). Late 20th century.

A Pashtun Mangal child's shirt front, circa early or mid 20th century. Silk thread on cotton in a dense satin stitch is worked in horizontal rows, forming geometric patterns of lozenges and chevrons in mostly peach and black thread which cover the entire embroidered surface. The lozenges are accentuated by diagonal lines in brown thread which are worked in Holbein stitch and back stitch, contrasting with the overall magenta color of the dress front...

This hand-stitched cupola-shaped hat is called a doppi and features satin, herringbone and cross stitch in cotton thread. It has a pink cotton tassle on the side and a braided string at the top. Diameter: 20 cm; circumference: 52.5 cm. Condition: Excellent. Mid to late 20th century.

A Kuchi dress from Afghanistan from the second half of 20th century. The dress bodice has a front slit with button closure, and dense silk embroidery adorns the bodice, sleeve ends, and bottom hem. The embroidery is mostly satin stitch, with ladder stitch and herringbone stitch on black cotton. The embroidered sleeve bands and bottom embroidered band are 2 inches in width. The printed fabric is cotton, with small turquoise, yellow and red motifs on a black background...

A small embroidered purse from Jaghori in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, circa mid 20th century. On fine black cotton and lined with printed fabric from Ivanovo. Extremely fine silk thread in mostly satin stitch, in various shades of yellow, green, purple and brick red, forming small, regular chevron patterns in diagonal across the entire surface of the purse. A white plastic button serves as a closure...

In mostly satin stitch and cross stitch in silk thread, this piece measures 45½ x 36½ inches (115.6 x 92.7 cm). Saye goshe are an Uzbek V-shaped fringed hanging used to decorate piles of quilts when they are stored during the day. The blazing colors on this textile depict traditional Uzbek motifs with stylized pomegranate flowers. Still living in yurts, the Lakai Uzbek have perfected the interior decoration of their homes...

This is an old textile piece from Afghanistan, circa mid 20th century, made by Pashtuns from Ghazni province. It is a child's dress front. The textile features traditional motifs in cross stitch, silk thread in yellow, green and blue on a cotton background. There is metallic braiding appliqued on the sides and metallic silver couching at the top. The side tabs at the bottom are executed in herringbone stitch on a white cotton background...

Measuring 10¾ inches x 16 inches, this child's dress front is from Jaghori in Ghazni province...

The Mangal are one of the largest and perhaps the most powerful and influential Pashtun tribes, residing mostly in Southeastern Paktia and adjacent Khost provinces of Afghanistan. They are renowned for their independent nature and a long history of resisting British forces, central and provincial governments, Soviet army, and even fellow Pashtun Taliban militia. The Mangal tribe also reside in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, and Waziristan, in FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas). ...

This child's dress front in cross stich from central Afghanistan dates to the mid to late 20th century. It measures 11¾ x 18 inches (29.8 x 45.7 cm). Traditional Hazara pieces (the smallest ethnic minority group of Afghanistan), like Pashtun pieces, have a yoke under the neckline from which gathered, long panels of fabric flow. Sleeves are normally wide, and they wear matching cuffed pants underneath. The garments are decorated with embroidery at the yoke, the collar, the bottom of the sleeve...

A man's shawl from Waziristan which is part of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, considered to be outside Pakistan's four provinces. Circa 1920s. The Mangal tribe who inhabit Waziristan actually straddle the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. This textile is very complex, composed of a black woven cotton field and silk ends, with silk embroidery in between. The combination of black cotton ground and silk is used to vivid effect. The piece measures 87 inches by 51½ inches (221 cm...

A vintage textile in silk thread from northern Afghanistan, probably from Mazar-i-Sharif, Balkh or Tashkurghan. Circa early 20th century. These kinds of textiles were made for domestic use. The back is lined with print fabric, most likely from Ivanovo, a town northeast of Moscow. The textile depicts floral designs around three central rosettes composed of long and short stitch enclosed by linear and curvilinear borders in satin stitch. The background is a bergundy colored cotton. The piece m...

Saye qosha is an Uzbek textile used to decorate piles of quilts when they are stored during the day. Two rectangles of cotton solidly embroidered in cross stitch with multi-colored hooked motifs, sewn together to make a V-shape. Fringes along the bottom in alternating green, bergundy, yellow, red, purple, and white. In their colors and repetition, these motifs are typical of the embroideries of Tajikistan and Sukhanderia in southern Uzbekistan. The length of this embroidery is 25 inches from ...

A densely embroidered pillow cover from Hazara district in Pakistan, circa 1950. This pillow cover was made for a wedding. Curling horn and star patterns are typical of the embroidery of the Hazara district, resembling both in design and technique the phulkaris of Punjab province. In this district it is typically accomplished from the reverse - the designs are outlined with one running stitch, then the outlines are filled in with another. The characteristic phulkari stitch of closely placed, p...

A small khalta (pouch) in cross stitch from Kunduz province, Afghanistan, hand-embroidered by Uzbek women of the Lakai tribe. Circa 1950. It measures 5 1/2 x 8 inches without the beaded tassles; with the beaded tassles, 7 1/2 x 9 inches. The bag is lined inside with red cotton, and the outlines on the exterior are embellished with tassles and white glass beads. Cross stitch is typically chosen for motifs set in the angles around 8-pointed stars or in designs with sections of embroidery in cont...

A man's wrist band from Afghanistan, hand-embroidered by Lakai Uzbek women, probably from Kunduz province. Circa 1970. Solid embroidery in cross stitch with hooked motifs. These motifs, their colors and repetition, are common in the embroideries of Tajikistan and Sukhanderia in southern Uzbekistan. The embroidery features buttons and beaded tassles on both ends. The tassles are bound together by metallic thread. The Lakai Uzbek cross stitch is rather larger than in the Hazara embroideries. ...

A hand-embroidered Pashtun nomad purse from Katawaz (Ghazni province) with blue glass beads. Blue beads are considered amulets against the evil eye. Pashtun women, whether settled or nomadic, love rich and beautiful embroideries that shine. Women embroider - for themselves, on their festive costumes and headgear - and for their children and their husbands. Women embroider, not only from pleasure and duty, but equally as a statement of their value and of their love for their husband and childre...

Living in the rough mountainous terrain of eastern Paktika and over the Pakistan border in Waziristan, the women of the Mangali tribe wear these leggings for protection. Loose, baggy trousers are tucked into them, and they are re-used until they wear out. Very thick bergundy silk thread is worked in horizontal rows on the top in cross stitch, and on the lower part in vertical bands of heavy whip stitch. Geometric patterns are superimposed in random coloring. The leggings are lined in purple ...

A prayer cloth (mohr posh) embroidered by Hazara women, probably originating from Ghazni, Uruzgan or Bamiyan province. These prayer cloths are unique to the Hazara and are used to wrap the Shi'a prayer stone, called the mohr. At the time of prayer, the stone is laid on the cloth so that the worshipper touches with his forehead the small square where the stone is placed. The stone depicts the mosque and minarets of Karbela. Strong geometric patterns have been embroidered in satin stitch in bri...

Measuring 15 x 16.5 this embroidered purse from Afghanistan is in excellent condition and dates to the mid to late 20th century. Silk thread on cotton, in satin stich and brick stitch. White beads on corded tassels surround the edges. Condition is excellent. Estimated age late 20th century.

Depicting swirling stylized floral discs in couching stitch ("basma") worked in silk thread on cotton, this pair of Uzbek tent hangings measure 16 x 100 cm. The elaborate tassels and wrapped cords are formed in silk thread, decorated with crown knots and silver metallic thread. They are in excellent condition.

A pair of doilies from Afghanistan, with gul-i-peron discs and extensive beadwork, mirrorwork. They are in excellent condition and measure 19 x 19 cm. Intricate ladder stitch and button hole stitching are the embroidery techniques, plus metal thread and Bukhara stitching. These doilies were made for a woman's dowry and would form part of her trousseau. Estimated age mid to late 20th century.

This Turkman Yomut's child's cap from Herat measures 17.8 cm in diameter and 49.5 cm in circumference, 5.5 cm in height. It is estimated to date to the mid 20th century and is in excellent condition. The embroidery technique is cotton thread in a tightly worked satin stitch on a light beige cotton ground.

Embroidered in long and short stitch in rayon thread, this prayer cloth is from central Afghanistan where the minority Shi'a Hazara people live, comprising about 19% of the total population of Afghanistan. The textile depicts the domed tomb ("Mashhad Hussein") of Hussein, the grandson of the prophet Muhammad, in Kerbala, Iraq, the holiest shrine of the the Twelve-Imam Shi'ite Muslims. The background is a polyester cloth embroidered in vibrant primary colors, alluding to the mosque and minarets o...

Embroidered in silk thread on a fine cotton linen ground, this little purse is from Badakhshan province in northeastern Afghanistan and measures 11.3 x 13.5 cm. Badakhshan province is mostly inhabited by Tajiks and is the home of the world's most important lapis mines. The embroidery technique is a combination of brick stitch and long and short stitch, depicting chevrons and floral motifs. Three silk pompoms adorn each corner of the purse which is in excellent condition overall, just a few tiny...

A child's cap embroidered in acrylic thread, tent stitch and satin stitch, it is embellished with pompoms, buttons, metal trinkets and white beads which are traditional decorative elements of Kohistani embroidery. Diameter is 16.5 cm, circumference 43 cm. Mid to late 20th century. Some fraying.

This child's cap from the from the high valleys of Indus Kohistan is dated to the mid-late 20th century and embellished with cowry shells, white beads and metal snaps and trinkets. The embroidery is tent stitch worked in cotton thread, forming interlocking diamond motifs on the crown. Condition: overall good, some fraying. Diameter is 7 inches, circumference 15 1/4 inches.

In the high valleys of Indus Kohistan the children still wear hats such as this one, made of tent stitch, fine cross stitch and metallic amulets to ward off the evil eye. Silk thread on cotton ground, accented with beading, sea shells, pompoms, and metal trinkets. Estimated age mid 20th century. Condition of this hat is excellent. No holes, no fraying, no stains. Diameter is 7 inches, circumference 18 inches.

This charming little girl's cap from Indus Kohistan measures 21 cm in diameter and 44 cm in circumference. It is densely embroidered in silk thread on black cotton, a combination of extremely fine cross stitch (petit point) and satin stitch forming geometric patterns. As well, the cap is embellished with decorative trinkets including buttons, embossed silver discs, glass beads and tiny brass bells and pendants which are considered to have amuletic power. The vibrant pinks and magenta colors are...

A small embroidered tobacco pouch ("kochor") from Indus Kohistan. Measuring 13 x 13 cm, in extremely fine cross, tent and satin stitching in silk thread, the edges and front surface embellished with red, green and white beadwork. Estimated age: mid 20th century. Condition: overall good but with some staining on the reverse. Indus Kohistan is located in the province of Pakistan formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), recently re-named Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Indus Kohistan r...

The fabric is fine cotton, solidly worked in brick and satin stitch in silk thread, the colors alternating between green and orange, pink, blue and purple. It measures 3 1/4 inches x 31 inches (8 cm x 78.5 cm) and is probably from either Ghazni, Jaghori or Nawur areas of Ghazni province, or else from Daykundi and Dayzangi in the province of Orugzan. The interlocking diamond motif and understated color arrangement are typical of Hazara embroidery. Circa early to mid 20th century. Condition: Excel...