Object Note
Part of an ensemble consisting of two more parts (ZI2018.500.121 ASIA and ZI2018.500121a ASIA).
Object History
This object was sourced with the help of fashion designer Homeira Ebadi from the Evaz county of Fars Province in the south of Iran. It was purchased by her on behalf of Dr. Reem Tariq El Mutwalli in 2018 to be added to The Zay initiative collection.
Apart from being a fashion designer Ms. Ebadi is a dedicated volunteer associated with The Zay Initiative and its cause, often lending a hand in sourcing unique pieces like this.
Our heartfelt gratitude to Ms. Ebadi for her efforts for her contribution.
Object Features
This is a pair of green silk divided skirt possibly known as (tombun_zanuna) of (satin) weave with sporadic repeats of floral motifs. Usually worn with a fairly straight-fitted full tunic dress (pirhan) with long slits on the sides or a shorter collarless shirt of satin brocade (jama_atlas / juma_atlas) for ceremonial purposes and a pair of underdrawers (zirsawlar) by Lori speaking ethnic women of Iran including the women of the Lor, Bakhtiari, and Boir-Ahmadi tribes.
This is a pair of divided skirt has full gathers on each side and a very wide waist possibly to fit all sizes. The field of the skirt is embellished with sporadic repeats of a floral arrangement that looks like a bird in flight.
Known as the (bu_tayrah) in colloquial Gulf Arabic – Khalijee – dialect, satin fabric embellished with this motif is extremely sought after in the countries of the Arabian Peninsula, especially in the UAE. It is often the choice fabric for (kandurah). With cross-cultural lineages running deep between the communities living on either side of the Gulf, it is thus no wonder, that material culture such as this has found firm grounds on both sides.
This arrangement is embroidered using (satin_stitch) technique in an array of colourful silk floss threads – purple, orange, (crimson) red, pink, and ivory. this piece is usually paired with a collarless silk shirt called jama_atlas or juma_atlas and a veil or head scarf (meyna) over a hood (lačak).
The hem of the skirt has four tiers of borders – a woollen woven fabric in orange, blue, red, green, and ivory adorning the very edge, a thin strip of woven coral silk floss thread with thin metallic thread possibly gold (zari), a repeat of star-shaped motifs created with embedded metal pieces (badlah) possibly in silver, and a lace trimming constructed with crocheted metallic gold and silver zari.
It has a plain red cotton fabric lining around its hem only and has a drawstring fastening. A square piece of green silk damask fabric with floral motifs is sewn diagonally in between the two skirts to hold them together. The skirt is possibly divided and loose to allow ease of movement and riding modestly by the wearer.
Qashqai women from the Zagros mountainous regions of Iran are also often seen wearing similar traditional dresses with a few variations in their style as well as names. This is because until c. 1920s the Qashqai traditional wears were heavily influenced and were almost similar to the population of southwest Iran – Fars, Kohgiluyeh, Boyer-Ahmad, west Hormozgan, etc. However, they call such skirts (tonban) or (salita).
Although part of an ensemble in the collection, the sourcing of each item in the series has been done separately. However, traditional women’s costumes from the Fars province of Iran consisted of similar pieces put together.
Interestingly, this ensemble has a very close resemblance to the regular ensemble (ZI2018.500737 ASIA, ZI2018.500737a ASIA, ZI2018.500737b ASIA) from Fishvar city – also in Fars province, Iran rife with Lori-speaking tribes – it is worth noting that this ensemble is a ceremonial garment for occasional wear. While the northern Lori women would be seen wearing a scarf (tara_awwal) and a turban (tara) over it their heads, the Bakhtiari and Boir-Ahmadi women of the south often drape their heads with a hood (lačak) and a fine veil (meyna) over it.
Links
- https://trc-leiden.nl/trc-needles/techniques/knotting-and-netting/badla
- https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-iranica-online/clothing
- https://books.google.ae/books?id=gbIsJ2tZJS4C&pg=PA148&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
- https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/clothing-xxv
- https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/clothing-xxviii
- https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/clothing-xxvii
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