Hunza valley embroidery
Red Cushion Cover with Gold Foliate Scrolls and Butterfly Border
Cushions
On a glowing red field, a navy lattice frames golden-cream foliate scrolls and small leafy forms, bordered by a band of pink and green cross-and-butterfly motifs. The scrolling vegetal forms recall the floral and tendril work of Hunza silk embroidery, while the bordered compartments echo its love of framed repetition. Stitched in the manner of erāghi cross stitch on a woven ground, the warm red palette lends a festive, heritage richness to a room.
The tradition
Hunza valley embroidery
Embroidery is the secret weapon behind Hunza Carpet, and the cushion covers are where it is most intimate. The tradition grows out of the pillbox caps that Hunza women embroidered for their own use, worked with Chinese silk that arrived over the passes on Silk Route caravans.
Today educated women artisans embroider cushion covers with the same fine silk-thread stitches, reviving old cap-and-veil designs alongside new compositions for the home.
Motifs & meaning
Reading the design
Cushion designs draw directly on the names and meanings recorded in Hunza's embroidery tradition.
Turangkish
Ibex horns — the emblem of the Karakoram's wild goat.
Tamuts
The snow leopard, elusive guardian of the high mountains.
Urki itsu
A wolf's foot, a protective tracking motif.
Kishtimuts
A boat, recalling travel and the crossing of waters.
Materials & technique
How it is made
Hand-embroidered in real silk thread using Hunza's traditional stitches — erāghi cross and roll stitch, qalmi long-and-short floral work — on a woven ground.
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