Sari
1960s (made)
This elegant sari is part of the wardrobe of Masood Mumtaz Ali Khan (1918 – 2001). She was a woman of status who mixed in the highest levels of society and acquired a collection of clothes that reflected her position, as well as the changing styles in saris between the 1940s and 1980s. Between the 1940s and 1960s women from India’s wealthy families began to wear saris made of French chiffon. Parisian companies produced chiffon in sari lengths to cater for this lucrative market. Plain chiffon saris were taken back to India or Pakistan to be embroidered, brightly coloured ones were worn for festive occasions and floral printed chiffons were purchased for everyday wear.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Chiffon, embroidery |
| Brief description | Sari, chartreuse coloured chiffon with silver and red embroidery and silver sequins. Embroidered in India or Pakistan, 1960s |
| Physical description | Sari, chartreuse coloured chiffon with silver and red embroidery and silver sequins. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Credit line | Gifted by Shalaleh Barlow and Mizra Faisal Anwar Qadir |
| Object history | This sari was worn by Masood Mumtaz Ali Khan (1918 – 2001), the daughter of the niece of the Begum of Bhopal Sultan Jahan who ruled the princely state between 1901 and 1926. There was a close friendship between Masood and the titular ruler Sajida Sultan (1915-1995), the granddaughter of Sultan Jahan. They were also close to Gayatri Devi, Maharani of Jaipur (1919-2009) who was of the same generation. This sari is one of a group gifted to the museum by Masood’s daughter and son. |
| Summary | This elegant sari is part of the wardrobe of Masood Mumtaz Ali Khan (1918 – 2001). She was a woman of status who mixed in the highest levels of society and acquired a collection of clothes that reflected her position, as well as the changing styles in saris between the 1940s and 1980s. Between the 1940s and 1960s women from India’s wealthy families began to wear saris made of French chiffon. Parisian companies produced chiffon in sari lengths to cater for this lucrative market. Plain chiffon saris were taken back to India or Pakistan to be embroidered, brightly coloured ones were worn for festive occasions and floral printed chiffons were purchased for everyday wear. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.1507-2019 |
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| Record created | December 23, 2019 |
| Record URL |
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