Embroidered Cover, 18th century, Victoria and Albert Museum

Place of origin: Azerbaijan (Made)

Date: 1740-1790 (Made)

Materials and Techniques: Plainweave cotton embroidered with silk (2-ply; S twist) in surface darning on the diagonal with running stitch for the outlining.

Museum number: T.41-1940

Gallery location: In store

Physical description: The blue ground is covered with a repeating pattern: there are three rows each containing three slightly indented octagons edged with light blue and two and two half vertical cartouches edged in 'gold' yellow; the cartouches appear either side of the octagons. Each of these rows is separated by a row of three horizontal cartouches and two and two half blue eight-pointed stars; the stars appearing on etiher side of the cartouches in the same colouring. there is a stylised floral motif at the diagonal of each star. There is a border in a different blue in which a variation of the cartouche alternates with a variation of the star.

Much of the white and black silk has decayed and the pale pink is faded coral pink
There are 24 warp threads per cm and 21 weft threads per cm.

There is a roller-printed cotton backing in brown, with a small patterning in white,orange and beige, with a blue cotton facing, plain weave, bias cut.

Colours: two x blue; pale blue; black; white; two x 'gold' yellow, pink (faded coral)

Museum number: T.41-1940

Shape: Rectangular

URL: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O11091/cover/