Not currently on display at the V&A

Costume Doll

c.1867 (made)
Place of origin

Costume doll representing a Gujarati woman. Unidentified armature and stuffing wrapped in cotton fabric. Yellow silk skirt with applied leaf motifs and vertical strips in tinsel ribbon (gota) and trimmed with crimped gota, purple satin with a floral meander in couched metal-wrapped thread, sequins and red glass beads. Hem edged with silver gota. Border faced with orange cotton. Waistband of green ribbon with gota and tinsel tassels. Bodice (choli) of yellow silk and metal-strip fabric with chevron and diamond designs, trimmed with gota, green floss silk, sequins, and couched metal-wrapped thread. Remnants of adhesive at neck indicating missing necklace. Large shawl stitched to head and left hip, of woven silk and silver-gilt strip with brocaded flowers in metal-wrapped thread, trimmed with green satin strip embellished with metal-strip and domed sequins, and edged with gota (tinsel ribbon). Black cotton fabric 'hair' edged with metal-strip, ornamented with a row of seed pearls. Embroidered eyes, eyebrows, and mouth, with glass bindi in centre of forehead. Large nose ring of gold-coloured metal with two seed pearls and two green glass beads. Both ears with gold-coloured wire earrings around the ears, from which hang large pendants with seed pearls, green glass beads and central green and clear glass 'gems'. Bracelets of metal strip on black cotton on both wrists. Fingers and toes tipped with red cotton.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Brief description
Costume doll representing a Gujarati woman, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, c.1867; Dolls; Textiles
Physical description
Costume doll representing a Gujarati woman. Unidentified armature and stuffing wrapped in cotton fabric. Yellow silk skirt with applied leaf motifs and vertical strips in tinsel ribbon (gota) and trimmed with crimped gota, purple satin with a floral meander in couched metal-wrapped thread, sequins and red glass beads. Hem edged with silver gota. Border faced with orange cotton. Waistband of green ribbon with gota and tinsel tassels. Bodice (choli) of yellow silk and metal-strip fabric with chevron and diamond designs, trimmed with gota, green floss silk, sequins, and couched metal-wrapped thread. Remnants of adhesive at neck indicating missing necklace. Large shawl stitched to head and left hip, of woven silk and silver-gilt strip with brocaded flowers in metal-wrapped thread, trimmed with green satin strip embellished with metal-strip and domed sequins, and edged with gota (tinsel ribbon). Black cotton fabric 'hair' edged with metal-strip, ornamented with a row of seed pearls. Embroidered eyes, eyebrows, and mouth, with glass bindi in centre of forehead. Large nose ring of gold-coloured metal with two seed pearls and two green glass beads. Both ears with gold-coloured wire earrings around the ears, from which hang large pendants with seed pearls, green glass beads and central green and clear glass 'gems'. Bracelets of metal strip on black cotton on both wrists. Fingers and toes tipped with red cotton.
Dimensions
  • Height: 29cm
  • Width: 16 cm
Object history
Transferred from the India Museum in 1879. Slip book entry 5855: 'Dressed Doll / Benares, Bengal / Price Rs. 8 / 1867 / Original nos 4269 / Costume of a woman of Guzerat'
Associated objects
Other number
5855 - India Museum Slip Book
Collection
Accession number
6868(IS)

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Record createdJune 25, 2009
Record URL
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