Prayer Rug (sajjāda) or Wall Hanging with Design of Flowering Tree

This rectangular textile depicts a flowering tree emerging from a vase above a stylized urn. These elements are set within a central, cream-colored prayer niche (mihrab) with a cusped arch at the top. The wide borders on three sides of the textile feature large and small pairs of almond or pine cone-shaped motifs with sharp curved upper ends. Originating from Persia, where they are known as boteh, these motifs became very common in India, where they are called buta. All the decoration is embroidered in multicolored silks, predominantly in shades of red, on an ivory wool background.

This textile was made in Kashmir, now part of the state of Jammu-Kashmir in northern India. Its similarity to Mughal tent panels with prayer niches and to hangings for royal audiences suggests that it may have hung vertically rather than used on the floor.