Catalog (275)

This unlined suede journal features a small Afghan embroidery in tight cross stitch, measuring 5.7 cm x 8 cm. The book measures 12.4 x 17.3 cm and was designed and made by the seller.

Depicting curling horned and star patterns, this wedding textile from the Hazara district of Pakistan, in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as NWFP) is densely embroidered in silk floss thread on a black cotton ground. It measures 70 x 77.5 cm and is in excellent condition. The motifs are curvilinear and embroidered in dark red in a combination of satin stitch and long and short stitch, outlined with a top stitch of golden silk floss. Estimated age: late 20th century.

A lined journal featuring on the cover a hand-embroidered textile from Afghanistan on black suede. The book measures 13 x 17.3 with a 2.5 cm spine. The embroidery on the cover was made by Afghan women and is dated to the mid or late 20th century. The book was designed and constructed by the seller.

Measuring 16.3 x 22 cm, this photo album features a small Afghan embroidery from Ghazni province on the cover which is dated to the mid or late 20th century and measures 9 x 10 cm. The textile is on a rich chocolate brown suede. The text block is made in Italy and features ivory pages with glassine interleaving between each page. Sewn, folded signatures with headbands and spine reinforcement. This book was designed and constructed by the seller.

This vintage Turkmen Tekke child's bib or collar is hand-embroidered in silk thread with cotton tassels. Shoulder to shoulder measures 19" and the front is 9 1/2" with a 3" fringe. The reverse is a printed cotton fabric and the embroidery technique features the traditional gul-i-badam ("almond flower") motif which is generally found only on Turkmen embroideries from Afghanistan. Condition is excellent and its estimated age is late 20th century.

This is a dowry purse from Afghanistan, measuring 19.5 cm x 29 when open, 16 x 19.5 when closed. The embroidery technique is silk thread in button stitch with herringbone stitch and long and short stitch. Embroidered on a silk background with mica mirrors, a few of them missing, the purse is otherwise in good condition for its age (mid to late 20th century).

This old patchwork quilt from Pakistan is known as a "rilhi" (from the Urdu word "ralanna", to mix or join). The embroidery is dense, mainly in buttonhole, satin and ladder stitch with some couching, and embellished with sequins, pompoms, mirrors and metallic thread. These quilts play a popular role in the outdoor festivals all over Sindh province that take place to commemorate the Sufi poets and saints ("urs"). This textile measures 28.5 x 54 inches (72.4 x 137.2 cm) and shows wear consistent with its age (mid to late 20th century).

A pair of vintage hand-embroidered make-up bags made by Pashtun nomads from Katawaz, located in Ghazni province, Afghanistan. Each bag is hand-embroidered in silk thread in a tight ladder stitch on a silk background, with some Bukhara stitching where the threads are held down with separate thread in a couching technique, and one bag featuring some small mirrorwork. One of the bags is lined with printed cotton fabric, probably from Russia. Both bags are estimated to date to the mid 20th century. See Bernard Dupaigne's book (Afghan Embroidery © 1996 Ferozsons p. 27) for similar make-up bags. Condition of each bag is excellent, with no flaws nor stains.

A woman's shift ("kurta") from Swat in vivid pink silk embroidery with green and purple accents on a black cotton background. This kurta has exceptionally fine cross-stitch embroidery at the sleeves, suggesting a link with Indus Kohistan. Indeed, it is not uncommon for embroidered panels for dresses from Indus Kohistan to be found in the markets of Swat (see Nasreen Askari, Colours of the Indus, © 1997). This kurta measures 73 inches across the top by 32 1/2 inches from the top hem to the bottom hem. The underarm gusset measures 3 1/4 x 4 1/2. This beautiful textile dates to the mid 20th century.

This vintage purse from Afghanistan is worked in a variation of ladder stitch and Bukhara couching to form repeating whorl and volute motifs. Silk and metallic thread are embroidered on a green polyester ground. The purse feature two inside pockets lined with red printed cotton, with the outer edges fringed with blue glass seed beads to protect against the evil eye. It measures 10.5 x 14 cm when closed, 13.8 x 25 cm when opened and dates to the mid or late 20th century.

This is an antique brass wax seal depicting a Fu dog. It measures 1 inch by 1 inch and 1 1/2 inches in height. These kind of stamps were used by officials to seal letters and other important documents with a personal wax imprint.

This child's hat was hand-embroidered by Uzbek women living in northern Afghanistan. Depicting traditional patterns in vivid pink, green, bergundy and purple, it measures 6 inches (15.2 cm) in diameter and 18½ inches (47 cm) in circumference. The width is 2¾"(7 cm). Long and short stitch are solidly worked in wool thread and reinforced with machine stitching on a cotton base. Condition is excellent on the exterior, with some fraying in the interior. Its estimated age is late 20th century. The Uzbeks comprise about 9% of the total population of Afghanistan and are a major Turkic ethnic group in central Asia.

Meticulously worked in cross stitch in cotton thread, this yurt ornament (saye gosha) is from Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan, where the Uzbeks form 10% of the population. The embroidered portion of this textile measures 19.5 x 20 inches, not including the wool fringes, which measure an additional 5 inches. The width of each panel is 10 inches including the fringes. Condition is overall good with one minor stain and some missing fringes. Estimated age: late 20th century. The reverse is lined with cotton cloth.

Living in the mountainous terrain of central Afghanistan where the cold and snow isolate entire villages for months, the minority Hazara women have developed a terse embroidery style of cross stitch and interlocking eight-pointed star motifs to produce their dowries. This textile from central Afghanistan is embroidered in silk thread on a plain weave cotton linen background. The top right corner is left unfinished, part of this textile's understated appeal. It measures 14 inches by 14 1/2 inches. It is being sold in a glass frame (black metal frame). Condition is perfect. Estimated age: late 20th century.

This vintage Hazara waistcoat from Jaghori in central Afghanistan is embroidered in extremely fine cross stitch in silk thread, depicting interlocking eight star motifs, a traditional motif in Hazara embroidery. The collar, shoulder bands and side panels are meticulously worked in Bukhara stitching in metallic thread, where the couched threads are laid in parallel to each other and are fastened by small stitches. The curvilinear forms form a surface pattern of a neat grid of lines which in themselves create geometric motifs in relief. The yoke measures 28.5 cm from the shoulder hem to the bottom hem, 26.5 cm across the front panel, and 44 cm across with the triangular side panels included. From the collar to the bottom hem the textile measures 28.5 cm. Condition is excellent. Estimated age mid to late 20th century.

Living in the mountainous regions of central Afghanistan, the women make these embroideries throughout the cold and harsh winters. This textile measures 25 x 27 cm and is in excellent condition. The embroidery technique is cross stitch in silk thread on an apricot cotton linen background. Estimated age: mid to late 20th century.

In the mountainous central provinces of Afghanistan embroidery is an important winter activity for women. This hand-embroidered textile from central Afghanistan measures 26 x 28 cm, composed of silk thread in cross stitch on a beige cotton linen background. It is in excellent condition and its estimated age is mid to late 20th century. As Bernard Dupaigne has noted, a syncretic embroidery tradition has developed in the central provinces where Pashtun and Hazara villages lie in close proximity to each other, a style that incorporates both embroidery traditions - Pashtun and Hazara - thus the difficulty in pinpointing the exact provenance of this particular piece.

The Hazara embroidery of central Afghanistan is extremely fine, worked typically in brick stitch in diamond motifs surrounded by hooked diamonds. This purse was probably used to store a precious object such as the soil or holy stone brought from the holy city of Kerbala. This purse measures 13 x 22.5 cm when open, 9.6 x 13 cm when closed. Silk thread embroidered in brick stitch on cotton. Condition is excellent, and its estimated age is mid to late 20th century.