I almost didn’t post this one. The auction is ending any moment. I like the colors. I like the illustration style. So what’s missing? This print does not reference any Islamic artistic tradition, it just puffs up an imaginary oasis from Richard Burton’s bawldlerized Arabian Nights. This is a fantasy created by Westerners.

Does a novelty print need to include a nuanced reference to the artistic tradition of the culture it portrays in order to have any dignity? Well, yeah. Is this print overtly offensive? No, not really. But wouldn’t you feel like utterly churlish if you were wearing a dress or skirt made out of this fabric and found yourself sharing a taxi with say--Palestinian poet, Mahmoud Darwish. Let's face it, you totally would.

Okay now, have my own vintage novelty choices always lived up to this dictum? Uh, well, not always. Sigh. What do you think?

Ah, comrades, shame is a revolutionary emotion.