Catalog: Vintage Arts: Regional Art (266)

Traditionally the balisht was intended as a grain sack but its secondary use was that of a cushion. This one measures 33 x 66 cm and has a soft knotted and piled face and a wonderful unique kilim flat woven back which is decorated with colorful bands of chevron patterns mixed with narrow black and white geometrical patterns. The opening of the bag is at the top and the horse hair loops around the mouth of the bag were used for fastening the stuff inside the balisht. The surface has a lustrous sheen due to the soft, fine wool of the pile which is closely woven, giving a play of colors and velvety appearance unsurpassed by other nomadic rugs. Condition is excellent. Mid to late 20th century.

A Baluchi saddle bag ("khurzeen") from the mid to late 20th century, measuring 47 x 109 cm. In wool ground with patterned bands in weft-faced, slit tapestry, half pile and half kilim. Strong plaited goat hair loops are attached which are interlaced when closing. Condition is excellent.

This is a woman's dress panel ("pushk kurta") from Baluchistan, measuring 43 x 52 cm. Embroidered in silk thread in a combination of interlacing, herringbone, long and short stitch, and extremely fine satin stitch, it depicts diamond shape medallions ("paraiz zarto")and arched columns with intricately repeated geometric motifs which are typical of Baluch embroidery. The most intricate pushks are produced in Makran and other coastal areas of Baluchistan. This is a dazzling and beautiful textile in very good condition. In this part of the world women trim the painstakingly embroidered sections from worn clothing and reapply it to new garments.

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.

A woman's dress panel from Baluchistan, densely embroidered in Holbein stitch, blanket stitch, chain stitch, and satin stitch in silk, cotton and metal thread. Most Baluchi women labor for years embroidering fine works of art for their daughters’ dowries. Small girls begin to learn basic stitches and patterns at about the age of six or seven years. They do not use charts or diagrams but instead create extremely complex designs from memory, often with assistance and suggestions from family members or neighbors. This textile measures 29.5 x 40 cm. Condition: Excellent. The diamond repeat pattern in columns is typical of these embroidered dress panels, which are sewn on to silk or cotton to form a dress called a pashk. the diamond repeat pattern is known as "paraiz zarto" in the Baluch language. The estimated age of this textile is late 20th century.

This Hazara purse from Bamiyan utilizes satin stitch and brick stitch in a combination of silk and cotton thread to achieve a simplicity in design, depicting diamond motifs and hooked diamond patterns, a trademark of Hazara embroidery. The purse measures 12 x 28 cm and is in excellent condition. The interior features three pockets and is partially lined with a dark blue printed silk fabric. Colored beads embellish the fringes of the purse. Estimated age: mid to late 20th century.

Measuring 13.5 cm when closed, 30.5 cm when fully elongated, this charming beaded purse from Afghanistan was made by Pashtuns and is in excellent condition given its age (mid 20th century). Blue and white seed beads surround the edges, protecting the wearer from evil. The stitching technique is characteristic of Pashtun embroidery, with intricate ladder stitch and basma stitch, where the silk thread is taken parallel with the metallic thread, fastening it down at regular intervals. Condition is perfect.

This purse is worked in a variation of ladder stitch to form repeating whorl and volute motifs on a silk ground. The inside features two pockets lined with purple silk and orange cotton, with the outer edges fringed with blue glass seed beads to protect against the evil eye. The purse measures 14.2 x 25.5 cm and is dated to the early to mid 20th century. Silk thread and metallic couching on silk.

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. The purse measures 18 x 18.5 cm and is in overall good condition, just some normal wear due to its age (early to mid 20th century). For a photographic reference please see p. 125 of Naskari & Crill, Colours of the Indus copyright 1997.

This child's hat from the remote valleys of Indus Kohistan measures 15 cm in diameter and 45 cm in circumference. Embroidered in an extremely fine tent stitch (petit point) and ladder stitch in acrylic thread, it features a beaded tassel and a horned amulet made of the teeth of a musk deer, believed to repel evil spirits. The hat is estimated to date to the mid or late 20th century and is in excellent condition.

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.

This child's cap from Indus Kohistan, Pakistan is dated to the mid 20th century and measures 7 cm in diameter, 42 cm in circumference. Kohistan in Persian means "land of mountains" and has two distinct meanings in Pakistan. In Persian "koh" means "peak" and "istaan" means "land of". Kohistan is one of the most isolated and the most deprived districts, not only in Hazara Division but in the entire Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. This child's cap shows the typical decorative amulets of Indus Kohistan embroidery, with coiled zippers, buttons, plastic poppers and beads. The embroidery work is exceptionally fine cross stitch (petit point) and satin stitch in silk thread and acrylic thread on black cotton. Condition of the cap is excellent.

This boy's coat resembles the famous green chapan worn by Hamid Karzai, the current President of Afghanistan. These coats are worn in Central Asia including Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, etc. This chapan is woven in silk with a blue cotton shibori inside lining in plain weave, with the inside lapel in brown cotton corduroy. It measures 92.5 cm across the top, from sleeve end to sleeve end. The sleeve opening measures 21 cm. From the shoulder hem to the bottom hem the coat measures 61 cm. The underarm gussets measure 4 cm. Condition of this textile is excellent. Estimated age: mid to late 20th century.

This dazzling child's dress front was made by Pashtuns and is probably dated to the 1950s or 60s. The embroidery technique on this textile features couched metallic threads forming an intricate combination of linear and circular designs, so densely arranged as to almost completely obscure the dark purple silk ground. Composed of metallic embroidery (Bokhara couching), the gold thread is taken across the surface for the desired length, then, bringing the needle back to the beginning, it is caught down at regular intervals by small stitches. The process is repeated until the entire surface is covered, the small holding stitches being staggered from one thread to the next, giving a characteristic relief to the pattern. Measures 22 cm x 27.5 cm. Condition: Excellent.

This child's dress front from Paktya province, Afghanistan measures 24 x 24.5 cm and is embroidered in fine cross stitch in silk thread, depicting eight-pointed stars and amuletic motifs. Condition is excellent. Mid 20th century.

This is a child's cap made by Uzbeks living in northern Afghanistan, probably in Sar-i-pul province. It is in excellent condition and dates to the mid 20th century. Diameter is 7" (17.8 cm) and the circumference is 20 1/4" (51.4 cm). Silk thread and metallic braid on cotton.

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. The bottom edge is accented with metallic couching and cording. The upper portions of the dress front are embellished with amuletic designs in gold and silk thread on blue satin. The Mangal tribe inhabit both sides of the Pakistan/Afghan border which includes Waziristan in Pakistan, southeastern Paktia and adjacent Khost provinces of Afghanistan. Measures 31 x 53.5 cm. Condition: Excellent.

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. The piece is trimmed with blue glass beads at the collar (blue glass beads are traditionally used to ward off evil), and multi colored beads down the front and at the bottom. Traditional Pashtun dress yokes have a yoke under the neckline from which long panels of fabric flow. Sleeves are typically wide, and they wear matching cuffed pants (shalwar) underneath. The garments are decorated with embroidery at the yoke, the bottom of the sleeves and the cuff of the pants. When a garment wears out, they remove the embroidered areas and re-use them in a new piece so that their progeny may share some of the original outfit. The back side of this piece is a red printed cotton. It measures 12 x 21.1 inches (30.5 x 53.6 cm). Condition of the textile is excellent.