Catalog: Vintage Arts: Regional Art (266)

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.

This little Hazara purse from Afghanistan was designed to hold kohl or some other small item. Embroidered in fine brick stitch in various colors of silk with the edges fringed with white glass beads, the purse measures 12 x 12 cm with the flap closed. It is in excellent condition, dating to the late 20th century.

A hand-emboidered purse from Pakistan, measuring 19 cm x 21 cm. The embroidery technique is a combination of ladder stitch and satin stitch in silk on a black cotton ground. The purse is framed on all three sides by white glass bead tassels. Estimated age: late 20th century. Condition is excellent.

This tobacco pouch ("kochor") from Indus Kohistan is embroidered in silk thread on cotton, with extremely fine cross- tent and satin-stitch, and white glass beaded tassels to adorn the edges. The bag measures 7" x 8" with the tassels. There is a string on the side of the bag which is used to hang the purse from the water pipe ("huqqa") while it is being smoked. There is some slight damage on one face, unsurprising given the age of this purse which is estimated to date from the mid to late 20th century. Kohistan (meaning "land of mountains") has two distinct meanings in Pakistan. In Persian "koh" means "peak" and "ustaan" means province". In its usual modern sense Kohistan District is an administrative district within Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province covering an area of 7,492 square kilometres (2,893 sq mi). In a broader historic and geographic sense, Kohistan is used for a region that stretches from the border with Azad Kashmir in the east to Afghanistan's Nuristan province in the west.

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 stains to be expected from a textile of this age (mid 20th century).

A densely beaded woman's dress panel made by Kuchi nomads from Afghanistan, probably dating to the mid to late 20th century. Woven glass seed beads attached to a cloth background at the top, overlaid by a second layer with twisted acrylic threads and beaded tassles. Several layers of fabric at the top make this piece stiff and sturdy. This panel measures 11¼ x 21 inches. Kuchis (from the Persian word "koch" meaning migration) are Pashtun nomads, primarily from the Ghilzai, Kakarh, Lodi, Ahmadzai as well as some Durrani tribes, but occasionally there may also be some Baluch people among them. There are 3 million Kuchis in Afghanistan, with at least 60% of them remaining fully nomadic, and over 100,000 have been displaced in the past few years due to war, natural disasters and drought. "A nomad's territory is in one sense boundless, but there is an established path linking a tribe's seasonal pastures, known as 'the way". Packing up and moving of the tribe along the path was, and still is, a twice-yearly ritual in which bags and animal trappings decorated with beads, shells, buttons and metal discs, long wrapped cords and tassles, add to the color and ceremony." (see Janet Harvey, Traditional Textiles of Central Asia).

This is a woman's shift known as a "jumlo" from the remote Indus Kohistan area of northern Pakistan. Jumlos are among the most lavishly embroidered textiles in all of Asia and are usually worn with an embroidered shawl known as a "chuprai". This tunic is embroidered in silk floss thread on black cotton in extremely fine half cross-stitch ("petit point") and the surface darning stitch for which Swati embroidery is famous. It is further embellished with assorted metal trinkets, amulets and buttons, which are used extensively in the embroidery from this district. In addition to providing decoration, they act as charms to avert evil from the wearer. The gored and flounced skirt features no less than 350 inserted triangular panels. The textile measures 149 cm when measured across the shoulders and back from sleeve end to sleeve end. Measured from neck to flounce hem the length is 85.5 cm. Condition: Excellent, there are a few small moth holes in the skirt, the largest measuring 3 x 4.5 cm (under repair). Estimated age: mid 20th century.

This Tibetan woven wool sash from the mid to late 20th century measures 5½ x 104 inches (14 x 264.2 cm) including the braided fringes and is in excellent condition. These sashes are used by Tibetans to tie their traditional apron attire (chuba for women, lokpa for men) and also to secure knives, bundles etc. The luster of these wool belts is derived from the high lanolin content to be found in the hairs of high-altitude goats living in the Himalayan range from which these belts are woven. Enlargement #12 shows the use of these sashes in traditional Tibetan nomadic culture (© 1995 East of Lo Manthang by Peter Matthiessen and Thomas Laird). These sashes are known as "kaabo" among the Tibetans and are carefully woven on backstrap looms.

Measuring 8 x 116 inches (20.3 x 294.6 cm) including the braided fringes, this woven wool sash from Tibet is in excellent condition. The sash is a dark bergundy with indigo stripes and orange thread sewn along the edges to prevent fraying. Estimated age: mid to late 20th century. These sashes are called kaabo and are traditionally used to tie and secure the national attire called chuba for women, lokpa for men (see enlargement #5, courtesy of Thomas Laird and Peter Matthiessen, East of Lo Manthang © 1995). 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. The last enlargement is a photo by Heinrich Harrer depicting a traditional loom on which these sashes are woven (Ladakh, © 1988).

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). These sashes are used to tie knives and bundles and more importantly, to secure the dress of the natives (chuba for women, lokpa for men). This sash is estimated to date from the mid to late 20th century.

A woven wool sash from Tibet, circa mid to late 20th century. Measuring 15.3 x 300 cm including the fringes, it is in overall good condition, but with some fraying. These sashes are used by Tibetans to tie their traditional attire (chuba for women, lokpa for men) and also to secure knives, bundles etc. Enlargement #6 shows the use of these sashes in traditional Tibetan nomadic culture (© 1995 East of Lo Manthang by Peter Matthiessen and Thomas Laird).

This Tibetan wool sash measures 12.7 cm x 340.4 cm in length including the silky fringes. The tigma (cross) motif is an ancient good luck charm among Tibetans and here it is depicted in a discontinuous weft pattern design. These sashes are traditionally worn to secure the traditional Tibetan attire called a chuba. 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. The last photo shows a typical loom on which these sashes are woven. Condition: Excellent. Mid to late 20th century.

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.

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. Condition: overall very good, albeit with some fraying which is to be expected from a cap of this age. Diameter 15.2 cm, circumference 43 cm. Some portion of the cap lining from inside is a printed cotton fabric.

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. The most intricate pushks are produced in Makran and other coastal areas of Baluchistan. This one measures 42 x 62 cm and is in excellent condition. Estimated age: mid 20th century.

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.