Not on display

Prayer Mat

1800-1860 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Plain weave cotton embroidered with silk in chain or tambour, straight and running [or back?] stitches, quilted, backed with resist and block printed plain weave cotton, faced with woven silk, with an added silk fringe. There is an interlining through which the embroidery is worked.
White ground with an outer border with a delicate leafy meander linking round blue and pointed red flowers. Edged on both sides with small outward pointing zigzags. Underdrawing can be seen beneath the thread. The main border is on three sides with a white ground quilted in a diamond pattern. There is a fine green stem with light and dark green leaves, red carnations with blue centres and a red bud. The pattern does not turn round the corners. The pattern of the outer border is repeated on three sides to form the central rectangle which is divided into a lobed niche. The spandrels are not quilted. They are divided into a diamond lattice by dark green lines. In the left hand side there is a break in the pattern and light green is used in the lower right hand side. There is a roundel with an inscription at the top of the niche. It has a dark green ground with yellow lettering outlined in red. There is a downward facing bird on the left and an upward facing bird on the right. The ground is quilted with a diamond pattern. There are irregularly placed, but basically offset, bands: red flower, blue centre, 3 blue leaves and red bud with green leaves and stem alternating with small blue flower, yellow centre, red bud, green leaves and stem. Some details in the narrow borders might have been worked with purple silk which has faded.
Backing: pieced; light green ground with offset bands with an oval arrangement of red, red and yellow and white and red flowers. Along the bottom and left hand side is a second, very similar fabric but the arrangement includes 4 yellow 4-petalled flowers outlined in red.
Facing: bias cut dark and light blue silk forming a fine check.
Fringe: green silk looped fringe from a yellow, mauve and green woven heading.

Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
cotton yarn, silk thread, weaving, printing, embroidering, quilting, sewing
Brief description
embroidered & quilted, 1800-1860, Persian
Physical description
Plain weave cotton embroidered with silk in chain or tambour, straight and running [or back?] stitches, quilted, backed with resist and block printed plain weave cotton, faced with woven silk, with an added silk fringe. There is an interlining through which the embroidery is worked.
White ground with an outer border with a delicate leafy meander linking round blue and pointed red flowers. Edged on both sides with small outward pointing zigzags. Underdrawing can be seen beneath the thread. The main border is on three sides with a white ground quilted in a diamond pattern. There is a fine green stem with light and dark green leaves, red carnations with blue centres and a red bud. The pattern does not turn round the corners. The pattern of the outer border is repeated on three sides to form the central rectangle which is divided into a lobed niche. The spandrels are not quilted. They are divided into a diamond lattice by dark green lines. In the left hand side there is a break in the pattern and light green is used in the lower right hand side. There is a roundel with an inscription at the top of the niche. It has a dark green ground with yellow lettering outlined in red. There is a downward facing bird on the left and an upward facing bird on the right. The ground is quilted with a diamond pattern. There are irregularly placed, but basically offset, bands: red flower, blue centre, 3 blue leaves and red bud with green leaves and stem alternating with small blue flower, yellow centre, red bud, green leaves and stem. Some details in the narrow borders might have been worked with purple silk which has faded.
Backing: pieced; light green ground with offset bands with an oval arrangement of red, red and yellow and white and red flowers. Along the bottom and left hand side is a second, very similar fabric but the arrangement includes 4 yellow 4-petalled flowers outlined in red.
Facing: bias cut dark and light blue silk forming a fine check.
Fringe: green silk looped fringe from a yellow, mauve and green woven heading.
Dimensions
  • Length: 89.5cm
  • Including fringe length: 94cm
  • Width: 66cm
  • Including fringe width: 71cm
Marks and inscriptions
(embroidered inscription in the roundel; part of the daily prayer, or salat.)
Translation
Glory be to my exalted Lord and praise belong to Him.
Association
Collection
Accession number
22-1877

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Record createdJanuary 13, 2009
Record URL
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