This stunning Persian print on cotton is available here. Bidding ends in 5 days, and it is a size medium. This ebay find was inspired by the many beautiful Persian-art influenced prints that Ms. Vintage Voyager has on her blog. And she has done the research to determine where the textile designers found their inspiration, which utterly delights me.

One of the many things to love about this print are the expressions on the faces. The courtiers who whisper behind the seated nobleman, the oud-player's bearded serenade. I love the upright pears that one of the women carries on a tray. I love that the blue sky with soaring birds is perfectly placed at the neckline. I am very curious as to what is on the back of this dress. The pattern moves into what appears to be a print of stylized trees on a goldenrod background along the sides, which help accentuate the waist, something a sack dress can always use.

I have only seen Persian minature inspired prints on cotton twice before. Once on ebay and once at the Fairfax flea market in Los Angeles, so I believe this is a rare one. But perhaps someone else has seen this before? I have a lot of Asian art on Polyester, as I am a sucker for photo prints and have started my very own Polyester Museum of Art. I've got a lovely Persian minature print tunic in an orange color way on Polyester, but it lacks the fine details that you see here. I have a Waltah Clarke Persian print on rayon though and that one is a show stopper. I love when Hawaiian dresses meet Middle Eastern and East Asian art, especially with the work of "Master Printer" Alfred Shaheen (though sadly his frocks are often cut too narrow in the hips for me). I've long threatened to photograph my own collection and post them here, and now that I've got a tripod and some lovely summer light, I better get to it.