Dress
mid 19th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This dress, called an aba or abo, was made and worn by a Muslim woman in Banni, a remote part of the Kutch district of Gujarat state in western India. The dress has an embroidered pattern over the front, done in incredibly fine chain-stitch and button-hole stitch, with tiny pieces of mirror-glass interspersed regularly throughout the design. The sleeves also use an intricate interlacing stitch called 'bavaliya' or 'hurmitch' in Kutch and Sindh, where it is used in local domestic embroideries. The back of the dress is left plain; when the dress wears out, the embroidered area can be cut off and re-applied to a new dress.
The dress would be worn with matching loose trousers, often with similarly decorated cuffs.
The dress would be worn with matching loose trousers, often with similarly decorated cuffs.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silk satin, embroidered with silk thread and mirrors |
| Brief description | Woman's dress (aba); silk satin embroidered with silk thread and mirrors; Kutch, Gujarat, W. India; mid-19th century. |
| Physical description | Woman's dress (aba); silk satin embroidered with silk thread and mirrors; |
| Dimensions |
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| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This dress, called an aba or abo, was made and worn by a Muslim woman in Banni, a remote part of the Kutch district of Gujarat state in western India. The dress has an embroidered pattern over the front, done in incredibly fine chain-stitch and button-hole stitch, with tiny pieces of mirror-glass interspersed regularly throughout the design. The sleeves also use an intricate interlacing stitch called 'bavaliya' or 'hurmitch' in Kutch and Sindh, where it is used in local domestic embroideries. The back of the dress is left plain; when the dress wears out, the embroidered area can be cut off and re-applied to a new dress. The dress would be worn with matching loose trousers, often with similarly decorated cuffs. |
| Bibliographic reference | Indian embroidery / Rosemary Crill ; photography by Richard Davis. London: V&A Publications, 1999 Number: 185177310X, 1851772944 (pbk.)
pp.88-89, cat. no. 78 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 4559(IS) |
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| Record created | January 16, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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