Keshan or Yazd (Iran), c. 23 x 63 cm, 18th century, fragment of silk velvet with cut open loops, textiles of this kind were used by the élite as court garments and cannot be dated with precision; the velvet displays two rows of figures, the persons depicted in the upper row are most likely falconers, flanked by unidentifiable naked figures with plaited hair, whilst in the lower section two flutists are recognisable, in a seated position and facing each other, separated by a cypress, in between a tree motif with two birds in its leaves; a very similar piece is preserved at the Museum für Völkerkunde in Munich;
trimmed all around, set in a wooden frame. (MA)

Further reading:
Persische Kunst, Katalog zur Ausstellung des staatlichen Museums für Völkerkunde München, 1963, front page and p. 122, no. 312;
A. U. Pope, A Survey of Persian Art from Prehistoric Times to the Present, vol. XI, plate 1038A;
Persische Seiden des 16. - 18. Jahrhunderts aus dem Besitz des Deutschen Textilmuseums Krefeld;
Eberhart Herrmann, Asiatische Teppich- und Textilkunst, vol. 3;
Reingard Neumann and Gerhard Murza, Persische Seiden, Die Gewebekunst der Safawiden und ihrer Nachfolger, pp. 139 to 143.