This rather crudely executed design is on felt, which is made of beaten wool. I’ve seen shepherds’ capes in Turkey made from this material, and it is certainly a very effective waterproof.

mongolian-felt.jpg (views well at 200%)

In this case, the felt has been dyed a lurid orange which invades much of the designs sewn on top of it. The twin horns are significant - both characteristic, and representative of I don’t remember what, but avowed to be so by Roger, no less. I more or less accused Roger of romanticism on this one, as it did not seem, on interrogation, possible to authenticate this as Mongolian - the description he had first given. Basically, this is yurt decoration, but it seems that yurts are quite widely used in central Asia, so the choice of Mongolia seems more for advertisement than science. A quick trip to Wikipedia mentions them certainly in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakstan, and a little further googling shows that they can be found in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan also. In fact, I assume that they are Mongol in origin and were taken west by the mongols during their migrations towards Asia Minor.

I don’t know whether this ’has some age’ as they say in the trade - at all events, it is more a curiosity than anything of real quality or value - I hope it’s Mongol, but in any case, it is representative of a very particular way of life. I even discovered during my googling that the ’yurt’ is now a common sight along the caravan routes of the US of A and Canada!