Woman's tunic (pashk) of embroidered cotton with silk, possibly made in Quetta or Chaman, early 20th Century.

Woman's tunic (pashk) of embroidered cotton with silk, mirrors, and silk tassels and gussets. With satin-stitch embroidery. The use of a single colour makes the embroidery striking against the ivory coloured cotton.

Full length and long sleeved. The front yoke, sleeve ends and the deep 'apron' pocket are embroidered in darn stitch, satin stitch, herringbone stitch with rows of geometrical designs such as diamonds and chevrons. A row of stylised rosettes, in chain stitch and buttonhole stitch, run down each sleeve and a variant pattern down either side of the lower front. The neck opening is faced with a band of black cotton, embroidered in chain stitch in yellow, crimson, orange and white. This band is trimmed with three applied chain stitch rosettes in black, red, crimson, yellow and white, each with a small central mirror.

Given by Mrs Anne Whitehead

The exquisite satin-stitch embroidery on this tunic reflects the influence of Kandahari traditions of embroidery from just across the border in Afganistan.

Women's dresses from Baluchistan in Pakistan are traditionally embroidered on the front with densely worked panels of embroidery. Unlike dresses from other parts of Pakistan, they rarely incorporate any extra applied decoration, but occasionally, as here, they are embellished with decorative tassels or tufted silk pompoms around the neck opening. The embroidery on Baluch dresses varies according to region, and this extremely fine, monochrome silk embroidery is influenced by the similar work of Kandahar, just across the border in Afghanistan.

IS.32-1969