Object Note
Part of a lot with an ensemble consisting of two more parts (ZI2018.500737a ASIA and ZI2018.500737b ASIA) and a cloak (ZI2018.500738 ASIA).
Object History
This object was sourced with the help of fashion designer Homeira Ebadi from the Fishvar city of Larestan county of Fars Province in southwest 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 purple silk women’s traditional tunic dress (pirhan) of (satin) weave from Fishvar city of Fars province, Iran. It is usually worn over a full or divided skirt (tombun_zanuna) and a pair of underdrawers (zirsawlar) by Lori-speaking ethnic women of Iran including the women of the Lor, Bakhtiari, and Boir-Ahmadi tribes.
It is also very similar to the traditional (keynak) worn by the women of the Turkic Qashqai tribe of the Zagros mountainous region whose traditional costumes were very similar and were heavily influenced by the population of southwest Iran.
This pirhan features repeats of two different floral motifs – a star-shaped flower and a long floral arrangement that looks like a bird in flight and a polka dot-sized circular ball motif embroidered in (blanket_stitch) and (buttonhole) styles with silk floss threads of different colours – ivory and two different shades of blue. It is a popular motif on garments across the Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula, where it is known by (bu_tayrah) in the colloquial UAE dialect.
The hemline and the cuffs are embellished with metal foil (badlah) and metallic thread (zari) crocheted trimmings in golden and silver colour. The hemline and the cuffs are lined with a thinner plain pink silk fabric of satin weave. The dress has a round neck with snap button fastening. The sides have long slits for ease of movement and are hemmed with a thin strip of zari and silver coloured possibly plastic tinsel thread in (couching) style.
While the name badlah for this type of embroidery is although same across Iran and South Asia it is also sometimes commonly referred to as (khus_dozi) in south Iran.
It is believed that the term badlah is derived from the phrase ‘badal kinari’ – cloud lining – popular during the Mughal period in India as net or fine gauze silk were often embroidered with metal pieces giving them the look of clouds with bright lines around them.
However, upon crossing the Gulf and reaching the Arabian Peninsula the nomenclature of the embroidery changes to (talli / tulle_bi_talli), while the cuffs of women’s trousers and shirts which are detachable and could be changed are called badlah.
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.
Although this ensemble has a very close resemblance to the ceremonial ensemble (ZI2018.500121 ASIA; ZI2018.500121a ASIA; ZI2018.500121b ASIA) also from Fars province, Iran rife with Lori-speaking tribes – it is worth noting that this ensemble is a traditional garment for regular wear. While the northern Lori women would be seen wearing a scarf (tara_awwal) and a turban (tara) over their heads, the Bakhtiari and Boir-Ahmadi women of the south often drape their heads with a hood (lačak) and fine veil (meyna) over it.
Links
- https://trc-leiden.nl/trc-needles/techniques/knotting-and-netting/badla
- https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/clothing-xxiii
- https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-iranica-online/clothing
- https://iranparadise.com/irans-traditional-dress/
- https://www.fantasticirantravel.com/iranian-ethnic-costumes/
- https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/clothing-xxvii
- https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-iranica-online/clothing
- https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/clothing-xxviii
- https://trc-leiden.nl/trc-needles/techniques/knotting-and-netting/badla
- https://trc-leiden.nl/trc-needles/individual-textiles-and-textile-types/daily-and-general-garments-and-textiles/
- https://trc-leiden.nl/trc-needles/individual-textiles-and-textile-types/daily-and-general-garments-and-textiles/
- https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/clothing-xxiv
- https://www.fantasticirantravel.com/iranian-ethnic-costumes/
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