Ashmolean Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Unfortunately only the decorated part of the textile has been preserved so we cannot tell how long the complete item was originally. It is one of the many embroidered fragments in the collection from the ends of girdles. It may have been used as a trouser tie-belt (tikka); in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Nluseum (London), there is an example of a linen embroidered one, still threaded through the waistband of a pair of child’s silk striped trousers (No.763-1898). Some such ends from girdles or tie-belts in the Newberry collection have just two bands of pattern, often worked in only one colour, but this one is more elaborate with its three bands, all with intricate little borders and lines of cross stitch worked in between using blue, crimson and green silk. The edges have been hemmed and then decorated with blue spaced cross stitches and lines of outline stitch.

Three parallel bands, the central one red with s-shapes and borders of single stylized leaves, the outer ones black with chevrons and leafborders. The three bands are separated by a single line of green cross stitch. Between the short ends and the brown bands are single lines of blue cross stitch. The entire textile has a blue and red border.

Stitched hems along both long sides.