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.

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).

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.

Measuring 29 x 37 cm this child's embroidery front is from Indus Kohistan. Condition is excellent, and it dates to the mid 20th century. The embroidery technique is straight stitch in silk thread on a black cotton background, embellished with white glass beads and buttons. Kohistan has a rich local history as a crossroads between Central, South and Southwestern Asia. Predominantly inhabited by Dardic and Pashtun tribes since ancient times, Kohistan has been invaded and contested by Persians, Greeks, Scythians, Kushans, Turks, Mughals, and the British.