blanket (recto), Central Asia, late 19th century, cm 204x141. An intriguing item, showing two aspects of the block printing technique. The front side shows a wonderful example of those block-printed cottons made in France for the upper market as a follow-on of the oriental-mania triggered by the ‘Exposition Universelle’ held 1889 in Paris. The multicoloured botehs on red ground are just a great image, and no wonder that such things made then their way back to origins via Russian merchants. The back or lining, on the other hand, shows another application of block prints, a more funky one if you wish with not so detailed rendering of flowering, and typical of Central Asia where it also served as lining cloth for local ikat coats. Recto: machine-spun and machine-woven cotton and industrial block-printing. Verso: hand-spun and hand-woven wool cloth with ‘cottage’ block-printing. Good condition with just a pair of little damaged spots.