DescriptionThe striped textiles of Yemen were famous in medieval times throughout the Islamic world. Some were made in the ikat technique, in which the cotton warp threads were bundled together and resist-dyed before being arranged on the loom to form patterns of arrowheads and diamonds. Inscriptions on Yemeni ikats are usually either embroidered or, as here, painted. Extreme stylization through plaiting and floriation sometimes makes the inscriptions very difficult to read. These and other textiles bearing inscriptions were called tiraz, from the Persian word meaning "embroidery". They were produced in tiraz factories, some of which were commercial and others, royal. The presence of fringe suggests that this fragment was part of a shawl

Signatures, Inscriptions, and MarkingsInscriptions: The Arabic inscription in Kufic reads "Royal" and "In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate."