[ ritual cloth ]

This rushnyk (ritual cloth) is from central Ukraina.  It is probably from, or near, the town of Krolevets'.  It is a classic example of a woven "krolevets'kiy" rushnyk, worked in a deep crimson-red on what appears to be handmade cloth, possibly linen.  There are several interesting design elements, including the double headed "bird", some "duck" shapes marching across in the middle, and many strong geometric shapes. 

The image below is stitched together from five individual images.  The result is very obvious, but, hopefully, it provides a good idea of what the whole rushnyk looks like...