These remarkable antique embroideries were made in Turkey under the Ottoman Empire during the nineteenth century. Each one features a variety of finely and deftly woven Arabic inscriptions.
The smaller features a main inscription set within a circle and decorated with an intricate knotted pattern, while the larger depicts the Kaaba in a rectangular frame surrounded by further patterns and verse. The smaller is 31cm by 37cm, the larger, 47cm by 68cm.
