Textile
ca. 1855 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Mashru fragment woven cotton and silk.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Woven cotton and silk |
| Brief description | Textile, mashru fragment, woven cotton and silk, Tamil Nadu (Tiruchchirappalli), ca. 1855 |
| Physical description | Mashru fragment woven cotton and silk. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Gallery label | MASHRU
Muslim men are prohibited from wearing silk next to the skin. Mashru weaves adhere to this restriction by combining silk warps with cotton wefts, often in ikat designs as seen here. The cotton wefts are hidden behind the shiny silk warps using a satin- weave technique. The name mashru derives from Arabic, meaning ‘permitted under sharia law’.
Silk ikat warp and cotton weft (satin weave)
Tiruchirappalli (Trichinopoly), Tamil Nadu, about 1855
V&A: 7006 (IS)(03/10/2015-10/01/2016) |
| Object history | 'Mashru' is a satin weave cloth with a combination of a cotton weft and silk warp, the cotton weft being the lower layer in contact with the skin. The fabric was originally woven for Muslim men who were prohibited from wearing pure silk. 'Mashru' (meaning 'permitted' in Arabic) was woven all over India, though it survives today mainly in Gujarat. |
| Historical context | The complete object would have been intended for use as a garment, or to be made up into garments; clothing. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Bibliographic reference | Indian ikat textiles / Rosemary Crill. London: V&A Publications, 1998 Number: 1851772421
pp.134-135, pl. 112 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 7006(IS) |
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| Record created | March 27, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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