Object Note
Part of an ensemble which includes a blouse and a jacket (ZI2020.500741 ASIA, ZI2020.500741a ASIA) and was purchased along seven other pieces not related to the ensemble (ZI2020.500741c ASIA, ZI2020.500741d ASIA, ZI2020.500741e ASIA, ZI2020.500741f ASIA, ZI2020.500741g ASIA, ZI2020.500741h ASIA, ZI2020.500741i ASIA).
Object History
This yellow embroidered Sindhi woman’s loose pair of trousers was purchased by Dr Reem Tariq El Mutwalli from Kerry Taylor Auctions, London in 2020 to be added to The Zay Initiative Collection.
Object Features
This is a traditional Sindhi women’s (salwar) trousers (kancha) also in mustard yellow silk of (satin) weave. It is wide at the waist with a drawstring fastening and has broad embroidered cuffs.
The embellishment uses silk floss threads in a variety of colours – burgundy, yellow, green, and ivory – with small mirrors featuring geometric and floral patterns primarily in (buttonhole) and (chain_stitch) style embroidery possibly done by a machine. The construction of the garment is done by hand stitching.
This was the only traditional style of trousers that women in Sindh wore until the early 19th century when trousers similar to what the men of the region wore (suthan) also started being adopted and worn by women. While both styles of trousers were almost similar in all respects, the kancha was loose all over and suthan was tight below the knees.
The ensemble was acquired due to the distinguished neckline of the loose embroidered shirt (gaji) which is strikingly similar to the neckline of the traditional women’s (kandurah) from the UAE.
Usually, both kancha and suthan were made of satin. Historians believe that prior to the Mughal rule during the medieval period, Sindh’s costumes were possibly influenced by its neighbouring regions that were under the Rashidun Caliphate of Iraq, which is why Sindhi kancha are similar in style to the trousers traditionally worn by the Kurds.
Links
- Collection, Asian Costumes and Textiles from the Bosphorus to Fujiyama: The Zaira and Marcel Mis. Asian Costumes and Textiles from the Bosphorus to Fujiyama: The Zaira and Marcel Mis Collection. Calfornia: Skira, 2009.
- https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O476922/shirt-unknown/
- https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O455666/jacket-unknown/
- https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O476579/bodice/
- https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O440804/jacket-unknown/
- https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O475902/trousers-unknown/
- https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O453662/blouse-unknown/
- https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O475760/trousers-unknown/
- https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O69766/trousers-unknown/
- https://www.thevoiceoffashion.com/fabric-of-india/
- https://www.dawn.com/news/1594340
- https://brill.com/view/journals/joss/1/1/article-p1_2.xml
- https://books.google.ae/books
- https://m.bianet.org/english/culture/
- https://dressesculture.wordpress.com/2015/07/22/sindhi-dresses/
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