"Middle East, Textile. Textile, woven silk satin, design of red and white stripes with tiny floral detail, probably Kashan, Qajar Iran, 1876"@en . . "The impetus to form a collection of Persian textiles in South Kensington was generated by the fear that modernization might weaken Iran's artistic traditions. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, the building of an international telegraph system, the introduction of steam navigation on the Caspian Sea and improved transportation within Iran opened the country to foreign merchants who negotiated trade treaties which were seldom favourable to their hosts. Imported goods, especially textiles, were cheaper than those produced locally. In the 1850s cotton, woollen and silk cloth brought from Britain accounted for 66% of Iran's total imports; in the 1880s this had dropped a little to 63%. \nThe competition from cheap imported goods coupled with a change in taste prompted the preference for foreign styles and had a severe effect on Iranian textile production. Several years of drought and famine, which resulted in as many as 2 million people dying in 1871-72, compounded the problems and many textile crafts almost ceased to exist.\n\nIn 1876, to increase the presence of Iranian arts and crafts in London and to encourage the British to buy Iranian goods, the Shah instructed his Minister, Amin al-Mulk, to organise a gift of textiles to the Museum, including this example, which was delivered in March 1877."@en . "Two loom length of woven silk, each 289cm long, woven in Kashan in 18786 and given to the Museum by Nasir al-Din Shah. [2002]"@en . "Woven silk, satin ground\nWarp: \n\nWeft: \nLoom length: ends of the loom piece have been marked at one end by [a] on the back can be seen 1 cm of pink weft followed by 4 bands of light blue weft, regularly spaced and at the other end [b] 1 cm of light blue weft. The repeating pattern is based on two main stripes in red or white both edged with yellow and black lines.\nThere are colour variations along the length. From the lower end upwards: There is a narrow weft pattern formed by a three line chequered border of red and white with a black infill line either side of a band carrying across the red or white warp stripes an indeterminable motif in grey. This is followed by a narrow weft pattern band in red, dark green and black which starts the main decorative stripe pattern.\n[1] Red ground stripe with a meander in green bearing a simple flower in green with black details. After 48 cm the black is replaced by grey and after a further 28.5 cm a darker green is introduced with occasional light red details and after a further 14 cm the light red is replaced with pink; this colour combination continues for the rest of the length.\n[2] white ground stripe with a similar meander to that described in [1] but the flowers are more dominant: there is a green stem with red flowers and black details. After 48 cm the black details are replaced by grey; after a further 28.5 cm the green details are replaced by a darker green and grey and then after a further 13.5 cm the red disappears and is replaced with pink. this colour combination continues for the rest of the length.\nSelvedge: one orange and one black silk thread.\nVery similar to 819-1877 and 892-1877"@en . . . "1876, Iran" . "0.6857"^^ . . "893-1877" . "1876, Iran" . . . "Woven silk, satin ground\nWarp: \n\nWeft: \nLoom length: ends of the loom piece have been marked at one end by [a] on the back can be seen 1 cm of pink weft followed by 4 bands of light blue weft, regularly spaced and at the other end [b] 1 cm of light blue weft. The repeating pattern is based on two main stripes in red or white both edged with yellow and black lines.\nThere are colour variations along the length. From the lower end upwards: There is a narrow weft pattern formed by a three line chequered border of red and white with a black infill line either side of a band carrying across the red or white warp stripes an indeterminable motif in grey. This is followed by a narrow weft pattern band in red, dark green and black which starts the main decorative stripe pattern.\n[1] Red ground stripe with a meander in green bearing a simple flower in green with black details. After 48 cm the black is replaced by grey and after a further 28.5 cm a darker green is introduced with occasional light red details and after a further 14 cm the light red is replaced with pink; this colour combination continues for the rest of the length.\n[2] white ground stripe with a similar meander to that described in [1] but the flowers are more dominant: there is a green stem with red flowers and black details. After 48 cm the black details are replaced by grey; after a further 28.5 cm the green details are replaced by a darker green and grey and then after a further 13.5 cm the red disappears and is replaced with pink. this colour combination continues for the rest of the length.\nSelvedge: one orange and one black silk thread.\nVery similar to 819-1877 and 892-1877"@en . . . "The impetus to form a collection of Persian textiles in South Kensington was generated by the fear that modernization might weaken Iran's artistic traditions. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, the building of an international telegraph system, the introduction of steam navigation on the Caspian Sea and improved transportation within Iran opened the country to foreign merchants who negotiated trade treaties which were seldom favourable to their hosts. Imported goods, especially textiles, were cheaper than those produced locally. In the 1850s cotton, woollen and silk cloth brought from Britain accounted for 66% of Iran's total imports; in the 1880s this had dropped a little to 63%. \nThe competition from cheap imported goods coupled with a change in taste prompted the preference for foreign styles and had a severe effect on Iranian textile production. Several years of drought and famine, which resulted in as many as 2 million people dying in 1871-72, compounded the problems and many textile crafts almost ceased to exist.\n\nIn 1876, to increase the presence of Iranian arts and crafts in London and to encourage the British to buy Iranian goods, the Shah instructed his Minister, Amin al-Mulk, to organise a gift of textiles to the Museum, including this example, which was delivered in March 1877."@en . . . "Two loom length of woven silk, each 289cm long, woven in Kashan in 18786 and given to the Museum by Nasir al-Din Shah. [2002]"@en . "Middle East, Textile. Textile, woven silk satin, design of red and white stripes with tiny floral detail, probably Kashan, Qajar Iran, 1876"@en . .