Ornamental semi-silk panel "adras" 2

These luxurious decorative panels as well had the same name as the big embroidered bedspreads “suzani”. Along with the embroideries they were part of the dowry. This bedspread marked the status of the bride since the silk and semi-silk textiles were property of the wealthy city dwellers. The “adras” panels adorned the walls of the newly-married, as well as the bed of the married couple would be covered with it, and during the big holidays they were placed over the clay walls of the yard, the “duvals”. The ornament of the central field of this panel is connected to a widespread motif of a tree, supposedly a cypress in this case. This image sends back to the Tree of Life and the World Tree which was the universal symbol of the ordering of the universe, as well as to the paradise tree in the Islamic allegory of the Paradise Garden.
This panel was obtained by the State Museum of Oriental Art from the private collection in 1936.