Silk satin embroidered with couched metal thread and silk in straight stitches with a facing of bias-cut woven silk and metal thread and a backing of plain weave silk.
mid-blue satin ground divided by cords and metal thread to form a central field with a surrounding border which has four corner units. The central field has a central 16 petalled flower head in silver-gilt couched so that each petal appears patterned with a chevron and small lozenges, leading into a pale green chenille centre edged with small chestnut brown chenille petals edged in silver thread. Around the 16 petalled flower is a leafy stem frame in silver-gilt bearing leaves and buds in silver with silk thread infill in green, coral red, yellow and light brown, and supporting as main motifs:
[1] multi-petalled rosettes in silver with white, pink, coral pink and rose pink silk thread infill and a silver couched centre, leading into a flattened rose head [three quarter profile] in the same colouring but with a silver-gilt zigzag centre; from this flower further stems, leaves and flower heads emerge including a 9-petalled rosette in coral pink, white and light brown, a large 8-petalled flower with 4 silver-gilt leaves and a 6-petalled bud in silver-gilt;
[2] a 9-petalled silver-gilt flower head couched in small lozenges, a brown chenille centre, from which silver and silver-gilt stems carry leaves [sometimes couched with a feather pattern] and buds infilled with yellow, green, coral red and light brown;
[c] a long 4-petalled flower head in silver couched to form diagonal lines, again infilled with coloured silks, white, coral pink, yellow and light brown leading into an 8-petalled rosette, 4 petals of which are in silver-gilt.
The border is decorated with an interrupted meander in couched silver-gilt bearing roses and irises in silver or silver-gilt infilled with coloured silks, or stylised 8-petalled silver rosettes, with a central motif of a silver-gilt 8-petalled rosette with a dark brown chenille centre. The four corners are patterned with a central silver and silver-gilt 4-petalled rosette with chestnut brown chenille centre surrounded by a silver-gilt stem forming a 4-pointed frame, each point bearing a trefoil shape or a bud form with or without a dark brown chenille centre.
The cord delineating the central panel is made from 4x2S silk threads held in place by silver-gilt couched in a zigzag pattern.
Embroidery thread: 2S silk and silk chenille; white, pale yellow, dark green, green, three shades of pink, light brown, brown, light green.
Metal thread: silver-gilt strip close S-wound on a light yellow core and silver strip close S-wound on a white silk core. Within these two categories there are several variations in quality. Some of the metal thread is couched over a padding of silk threads.
Facing: bias-cut striped silk: a leaf green satin stripe with occasional small floral motifs in silver-gilt [open S-wound on yellow silk] and a light brown stripe woven with a chevron design and a small light blue and coral pink flower with green leaves on a silver-gilt ground.
Backing: rose pink silk [red and white threads]. There appears to be a watered or moire effect creating small chevrons. Evidence of diagonal lines created by 'ironing' with fine hot metal rods.