Cover

Square cover of silk brocade woven with metal-wrapped thread. Field patterned with a design of alternating diagonal stripes filled with repeating floral motifs in a manner typical of the Persianate style. Silver gilt-wrapped yellow threads form a golden ground; most of the metal has worn off. The flowers in the wider stripe are woven with two tones of blue, two tones of pink, two tones of green, white, and black-colored threads. The floral pattern in the narrower stripe is made up of pink flowers with green leaves and stems, outlined with white thread. The sewn-on border is made up of two more silk and metal-wrapped thread brocade trims patterned with scrolling floral designs. Silk brocades were a specialty of Kashan and Isfahan in Iran (Persia) dating back to at least the seventeenth century. Used primarily for luxury garments, they were often repurposed into decorative covers. When patterned with diagonal parallel bands filled with close floral ornamentation, they are referred to as naqsh (naqshe, nakshe), meaning ‘embroidery’ or ‘ornament’ in Farsi, and commonly known in Iran as ‘Isfahani.’ Naqsh is a term particularly applied to embroidered fabrics for nineteenth-century women’s trousers, but it is likely that the designs are related to woven versions in Safavid and later Qajar Iran. By the end of the twentieth century, naqsh was mostly woven. This cover has been stitched together in multiple pieces, backed with red cloth, and faced with a plain-weave cotton dyed bright cobalt blue. Related objects in the Penn Museum: A580A through A580D; A583, A584, A585, A587, A588, A590, A591, A592; see especially A590. Square with natural colored ground and floral designs broken by diagonal lines also contained flowers. Designs are in orange, blue, green, yellow and white. Red backing with blue borders and edges.