Towel or napkin, embroidered, Turkish, 1800s.

Towel/Napkin, linen embroidered with silk in double darning and double running in a line, and with plate in satin stitch and satin stitch filling in squares.
The narrow border along either end consists of two types of flower, a rose and a pansy, in shades of pink and orange and yellow. These are linked by a meandering stem with small leaves in green and blue.
The main border is worked in the same colours and consists of four pansy-like flowers above which are three, and an incomplete fourth, large flowers, a pink one alternating with ann orange/yellow one. Between these are densely packed leaf-like motifs topped in dark and light blue.
There is a metal lace edging along either end and along the side of the borders.

Given by Sir Leigh Ashton

At the end of the 18th century embroidery designs began to develop into rigid and heavily stylised borders for towels and napkins. The colours of 18th and 19th century embroideries were originally very bright but many have faded to pleasing pastel shades; often great quantities of metal thread were used. Napkins were mainly used to clean fingers during meals, but were also used as decoration and as covers. Their designs were consistently inventive.

T.191-1957