Skip to content
Pitt Rivers Museum
AboutHire the MuseumNewsletterUniversity of Oxford

1999.33.51

Cover for a motorcycle seat.

1999.33.51

Digital asset copyright: Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford

Terms and Conditions

If you wish to order a high-resolution image and/or licence its use for print or web publication, exhibition, film, promotional product or any other use, whether in the academic or commercial sector of any print run, then please visit photographic services.

Collection type
Object
Description
Cover for a motorcycle seat.
Long description
Cover for a motorcycle seat. The cover is in the shape of a long oval. The cover is made of a top panel of purple silk which has been embroidered in yellow, red, purple, dark blue and green silk thread. The predominant colour of the embroidery is yellow. There are five rings of silver metallic braid? which have been machine sewn onto the cover between bands of embroidery. The threads of the braid are made of cotton around which a fine layer of metal has been rolled, they are not taken through the background fabric but applied onto it. Couched thread work is common in Pashtun nomad embroideries. [In this piece a pre-made sort of braid has been used rather than individual couched threads.] The cover also has a beaded tassel edge. The edge is made of green wool pendant twisted threads. Four or five white beads are attached to the middle of each pendant thread. Beneath the silk layer are a layer of red cotton textile, followed by a layer of purple synthetic textile which is in turn covered with a layer of red cotton textile. All four layers have been stitched together and it is possible to see the lines of machine stitching on the reverse of the cover. The stitching is mainly where the silver coloured braids have been stitched down. The embroidery has been done by hand. Lengths of thin orange-coloured braid have been sewn at six points to the reverse of the cover. These form ties to secure the cover to the motorcycle seat. The upper side of the cover is faded and quite dusty. [MdeA 23/11/99]
Cultural groups
Pashtun
Person
Field collector Marina de Alarcón
Field collector Mark Axworthy
PRM source Marina de Alarcón
Date / Period
Date made: Circa 1975?, uncertain
Date collected
29 September 1999
Acquisition information
Purchased: 18/10/1999
Materials and processes
Material Cotton Seed Fibre Textile Plant, Material Bead, Material Cotton Seed Fibre Yarn Plant, Material Silk Textile Animal, Material Metal, Material Wool Textile Animal, Process Stitched, Process Embroidered, Process Machine-made, Process Beadwork, Process Woven
Dimensions
Width: max 335 mm, Length: max 690 mm
Object numbers
Accession number: 1999.33.51
Research and responses

For further information on this type of embroidery see 'Afghan Embroidery' by Roland Paiva and Bernard Dupaigne published by Musée de L'Homme, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Fondation de France. [MdeA 23/11/99]

See also page 40 of the above publication for a photograph of an object showing the techniques and materials used in this object. [MdeA 23/11/99]

Search terms: Transport and Travel, Textile, Furniture Dwelling, Bead, Cushion

Further items to explore