The oldest Ottoman embroideries in the V&A date from the 16th and 17th centuries. They are either whole covers and wall hangings or fragments of them. They are decorated with large-scale, bold designs in red, blue, green and yellow, with white and black. One of the popular designs in the 17th century was based on bands of flowers which faced alternately right and left. Textiles such as this are difficult to date. This one is worked in two shades of red and two shades of blue. The embroidery technique is called <i>atma</i> or laid and couched work, where most of the work is on the surface of the cloth. This design is 17th century, but the technique and the colours are not typical of Ottoman embroidery of this time. It is possible that they come from the eastern Ottoman Empire.