An envelope-shaped purse from Jaghori area of Ghazni province, Afghanistan, circa 1930. The silk embroidery is very dense, combining satin stitches with brick stitches into an alternating geometric pattern of zigzags and diamonds. The borders of the purse echo with similar triangular designs. The bag is lined in fine green cotton. Pompoms and buttons are used as highlights, with a card-woven braid serving as a closure. The edging is overstitched in alternating green and brown...

Measuring 18.5 x 28 cm when opened and 18.5 x 19.5 cm when closed, this pair of purses are from Katawaz in Paktika province, Afghanistan. The embroidery technique is an intricate ladder stitch depicting whirling solar motifs combined with button hole stitches around the mirrors ("shisha"). The purses also feature beaded discs ("gul-i-peron") intended to ward off the evil eye - the same function performed by the mirrors. Silk thread on a green silk background. Condition excellent...

Pompoms adorn the edges of this densely embroidered textile made by the Kakarh tribe of Afghanistan. Metallic couching combined with Holbein, herringone and satin stitching characterize this piece. The reverse side is lined in plainweave striped cotton. The Kakarh have descendants in western provinces of Pakistan but are mostly found in Afghanistan and eastern Iran. This textile is in perfect condition and measures 20 x 31 1/2 inches (50.8 x 80 cm). Estimated age: mid 20th century.

A child's embroidered dress front from Hunza valley, located in the rugged, mountainous northern areas of Pakistan. Silk thread on cotton ground, densely embroidered in cross stitch and petit point. Estimated age mid 20th century. Measures 28 x 48.5 cm (11 x 19"). Some staining on the front with some dye bleeding. The reverse is lined in silk.

This lovely child's hat was hand-embroidered by women of Kohistan, an area of lush green forests and valleys located on the river Indus. The embroidery technique is a fine cross stitch and brick stitch in acrylic thread with white beads and buttons. Diameter: 7.5 inches, circumference: 18 inches. Condition: Excellent. Estimated age: late 20th century. The hat size indicates it was made for an infant or toddler.

A hand-embroidered bag made by Pashtun nomads from Ghazni province (probably Katawaz), Afghanistan. Floral motifs combined with arabesques in herringbone stitch in silk thread on a purple silk background. The Bokhara couching technique is used to maximum effect, where the metallic threads are laid parallel to each other and fastened at regular intervals by tiny red stitches. Blue beads adorn the edges to ward off the evil eye. The interior of the bag is lined in a blue printed fabric...

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 is an Uzbek embroidered cloth from northern Afghanistan. The motifs and colors are typical of the embroideries of Tajikistan and southern Uzbekistan (Sukhandarya). Cross stitch and satin stitch in pink, green, yellow and blue yellow silk thread. This textile was probably made for a dowry. It measures 29.5 x 30 cm. Condition: Excellent, no fraying, no stains, no odors. Estimated age: mid or late 20th century.

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.

This small pouch from Hazara district in Pakistan measures 12 x 15.5 cm and is hand-embroidered in extremely fine satin stitch in silk thread. Its age is approximately early to mid 20th century. Condition is near excellent, two light stains on one face. As the Hazara district is situated between Punjab and Swat, the embroidery of this area is stylistically very similar to that of the Swat Valley.

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...

This embroidered cloth from Paktya province measures 22 x 22 cm and is in excellent condition. Eight-pointed stars are repeated in symmetry and bordered by scroll motifs, all executed in silk thread in solid stitchery on a fine pumpkin linen background. This textile is in excellent condition. Estimated age: mid to late 20th century. The last photo shows the textile from the reverse, which is as equally fine in detail as the frontpiece.

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...

This child's waistcoat is from Indus Kohistan, located in the province of Pakistan formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), recently re-named Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is a superb piece, embroidered on black cotton fabric and embellished with coins, multicolored glass seed beads and pearly buttons. The vest measures 32 cm by 37 cm with the neck yoke measuring 11 cm. It is estimated to date to the middle to late 20th century...

An old Uzbek textile from northern Afghanistan, traditionally used in the yurt. Each side measures 26 x 40 cm including the wool fringe. It is in very good condition, appropriate for its age and origin. The embroidery is very fine cross stitch ("petit point") in silk thread. The reverse is lined in white cotton. Estimated age: mid to late 20th century. Condition is overall very good, just one minor stain (see first two photos).

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.

This textile is from Jaghori in central Afghanistan. It measures 25 x 26 centimeters and is in excellent condition. It is embroidered in cross stitch in silk thread and tightly worked into an overall composition that is very typical of the embroidery from this area. Estimated age: mid 20th century. Condition: Excellent.

Metallic thread is used to optimal effect in this Pashtun nomad's purse from southern Afghanistan. The thread is not taken through the magenta silk background but applied onto it in couched threads, laid parallel to each other and caught down by a small stitch in colored cotton...