Not currently on display at the V&A

Dress

late 19th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
North-West Frontier Province (made)

Plain blue cotton was frequently used for garments especially around Kohat and Bannu. A dress like this would be worn with wide, gathered cotton trousers(shalwar), with a plain shawl to cover the head.


Object details

Categories
Clothing
SCRAN
Textiles
India Museum
Object type
Dress
Materials and techniques
Indigo-dyed cotton
Cotton
Brief description
Woman's cotton indigo dress, Pakistan, mid 19th century (about 1850-1870).
Physical description
Plain blue cotton was frequently used for garments especially around Kohat and Bannu. A dress like this would be worn with wide, gathered cotton trousers(shalwar), with a plain shawl to cover the head.
Dimensions
  • Length: 119cm
  • Shoulders width: 37cm
  • Waist (high) measured inside garment circumference: 82.5cm (Note: Measured by Conservation)
  • Bust measured inside garment circumference: 86cm (Note: Measured by Conservation)
  • Nape waist length: 29.5cm (Note: Measured by Conservation)
  • Nape hem length: 116cm (Note: Measured by Conservation)
  • Sleeve length shoulder to cuff length: 63cm (Note: Measured by Conservation)
  • Sleeve length underarm to cuff length: 53cm (Note: Measured by Conservation)
  • Cuff measured inside garment circumference: 30cm (Note: Measured by Conservation)
  • Waist hem length: 86cm (Note: Measured by Conservation)
Gallery label
  • Indigo takes its name from ‘India’. Derived from the leaves of shrubs in the Indigofera family, the dye has been used for millennia in most regions of India to colour yarn and fabric (especially cotton) in shades of blue. Indigo is a substantive dye, which fixes without the help of a mordant. To make patterned cloth, the dyer may use a ‘resist’ such as wax or string to prevent some areas turning blue, as on this 19th-century turban. 1. Woman’s dress Indigo-dyed cotton Kohat, Pakistan, 1850–70 V&A: 4815 (IS) 2. Plain indigo-dyed muslin Srikakulam (Chicacole), Andhra Pradesh, about 1855 V&A: 8910 (IS) 3. Indigo bricks Bengal, about 1877 Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 4. Tie-dyed turban cloth Indigo-dyed cotton Delhi, about 1855 V&A: 7871 (IS)(03/10/2015-10/01/2016)
  • INDIGO Indigo takes its name from ‘India’. Derived from the leaves of shrubs in the Indigofera family, the dye has been used for millennia in most regions of India to colour yarn and fabric (especially cotton) in shades of blue. Indigo is a substantive dye, which fixes without the help of a mordant. To make patterned cloth, the dyer may use a ‘resist’ such as wax or string to prevent some areas turning blue, as on this 19th-century turban. 1. Woman’s dress Indigo-dyed cotton Kohat, Pakistan, 1850–70 V&A: 4815 (IS) 2. Plain indigo-dyed muslin Srikakulam (Chicacole), Andhra Pradesh, about 1855 V&A: 8910 (IS) 3. Indigo bricks Bengal, about 1877 Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 4. Tie-dyed turban cloth Indigo-dyed cotton Delhi, about 1855 V&A: 7871 (IS)(03/10/2015-10/01/2016)
Production
from Kohat
Bibliographic reference
Colours of the Indus : costume and textiles of Pakistan / Nasreen Askari and Rosemary Crill. London: Merrell Holberton in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1997 Number: 1858940443 p. 118, pl. 188
Collection
South & South East Asia Collection
Accession number
4815(IS)

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Record createdNovember 12, 2002
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O69958/dress-unknown/
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