http://collection.shangrilahawaii.org/internal/media/dispatcher/62790/fullPolychrome Embroidered Hanging with Star Motifs19th - 20th centuryOverall: 59 x 74 in. (149.9 x 188cm)Cotton with cotton threadsCourtesy of the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art85.760This cotton textile is richly stitched with burgundy, green, yellow and white thread on a dark ground. In the center is a medallion of concentric circles. The ground is lined with a lattice pattern, filled with radiating circular motifs punctuated with white, square designs.
Called “Marash embroidery,” this type of needlework was named after the region from which it originated. The town of Marash (today part of present-day Turkey) was primarily home to Cilician Armenians prior to the Amenian Genocide of 1915-6. Generations of Armenian women have practiced the intricate art of embroidery, and this practice of needlework has been passed down through generations, from mother to daughter.Textiles149.86030000000E-100E-101645363780