Among Serbian folk textiles, the towel (peškir) is a centuries-old functional and ritual object present in both everyday and festive contexts. Woven fabrics based on cotton or linen were adorned with specific needle-painted embroidery. The applied floral ornamentation and human depiction show regional variations. A special representative role fell upon them in marriage customs and other family rituals.
In the Serbian ethnographic tradition, the peškir possessed a representative value expressing social status, as a compulsory item of the bridal trousseau. Its sacred purpose was realised within the framework of liturgy, for instance, as an adornment for iconostases.