Middle East, Textile; woven silk, 1700s, PersianWoven silk and metal thread with added silk fringe.
The field has a faded red ground with small-scale, dense offset rows of a tree, or are they leaves?, in metal thread [silver strip open S-wound on a yellow silk core]. There is a border down the sides with a yellow, metal thread, ground with a slightly indistinct meander linking round red flowers, diagonal light blue star-like flowers, purple irises and other red-pink flowers. At the top and the bottom of the central part of the sash this border is interrupted by a horizontal band using similar motifs but with no meandering stem. This horizontal border re-appears along the top and bottom of the end border panels. These end panels have the same [worn] metal thread ground. There are four floral arrangements: a blue and white striped shallow dish balanced on a mound holds a pair of green leaves with red and with white flowerheads above which are more leaves and then red blossoms surrounding a white lobed medallion containing 3 purple flowers. This motif at the left hand side of the textile is squashed.
There is an added yellow silk fringe along the ends.