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Wrapped Garment

ca. 1855 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Sibsagar (made)

Length of lac dyed tussar silk, with bands of undyed silk at ends, and fringes. Complete piece.

Object details

Categories
Clothing
Textiles
Parasol Foundation Trust Indian Textiles Cataloguing Project
India Museum
Object type
Wrapped garment
Materials and techniques
Silk, woven
Silk (Textile)
Woven
Brief description
Textile, wrapped garment, silk, Sibsagar, ca. 1855.
Physical description
Length of lac dyed tussar silk, with bands of undyed silk at ends, and fringes. Complete piece.
Dimensions
  • Length: 550cm
  • Width: 114.5cm
Gallery label
(03/10/2015 - 10/01/2016)
LAC BEETLE DYE

Lac is a red dye made from the body of the lac beetle (Kerria lacca). The insects colonise the twigs of certain trees by secreting a resin around themselves and their eggs, forming ‘stick lac’. The stick lac is ground up and the dye is extracted by rinsing it out of the powder. It can then be boiled down for storage and sale as lac-dye cakes.

Shawl
Lac-dyed tasar silk
Sibsagar, Assam, about 1855
V&A: 5091 (IS)

Lac cakes
Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, about 1862
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Stick lac
Assam, about 1886
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Object history
Transferred from India Museum 1879.
Historical context
Intended for use as a garment, clothing.
Other number
3403 - India Museum Slip Book
Collection
South & South East Asia Collection
Accession number
5091(IS)

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Record createdJune 25, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O477733/wrapped-garment-unknown/
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