An incomplete piece of embroidery, 81.3 cm long and 63.5 cm wide, embroidered with a Buddhist pattern,is currently kept in the National Museum of India. The embroidery depicts a small seated Buddha, a seated Buddha under a parasol, and various donor figures using split stitches and red, blue, purple, and orange thread. The small seated Buddha has a halo and wears a kasaya and is seated on a lotus flower in the lotus position with his hands in dhyana mudra. The Buddha under the parasol is similar to the small Buddha in both style and color except that over his head there is a parasol with white bands of linked beads. There are three donors depicted in thescene: a male donor wearing leather boots and a narrow-sleeved, round-collared robe with the front part covering his left side and tied by a belt, a noble female donor wearing a long robeand high-toed boots, and a maid servant wearing a round-collared, narrow-sleeved coat and a long dress. The headwear and hairstyle of both the male and female donors resembles a mountain with a pointed top, above which they hold parasols. Judging from the techniques and styles used to depict this image,it is very likely that the embroidery was produced either in Taiyuan in Shanxi Province, or in Shandong Province between the late 6th century and the beginning of the 7th century. This embroidered fabric was originally used as a decorative hanging. When it became worn out, it was cut into pieces and reused as a kasaya or a cover for Buddhist scriptural texts.
