WOVEN TREASURES: TEXTILES FROM THE JASLEEN DHAMIJA COLLECTION (19-20 OCTOBER 2016)

EMBROIDERED

PASHMINA ROBE

KASHMIR, LATE 19

CENTURY

Handspun and handwoven

Pashmina, hand embroidered,

natural dyes

Length 51.75 in (132 cm), Sleeve

span 61.75 in (157 cm)

$ 12,125 - 15,155

Rs 8,00,000 - 10,00,000

NONEXPORTABLE

KASHMIR EMBROIDERY

Embroidery had reached its zenith in Kashmir by the mid-19

century. Known by the Farsi word

sozani

, which is a generic term

for embroidery, it had developed an extensive and diverse design

repertoire that utilises a variety of stitches, including darning

and double darning stitches, running, buttonhole, stem, satin,

herringbone, knot and couching. There are two features that set

Kashmiri embroidery apart from other embroidery traditions. One

is the imitation

kani

stitch, a stem stitch reinforced by a very fine

couching stitch and known as the

sozani

stitch. The other is the use

of scissors to cut the loose threads from the back of the fabric so

that there are no floats visible on the reverse. For most embroidered

shawls or

jamawar

fabrics the designs are block-printed onto the

shawl using intricately carved walnut-wood blocks.

The present lot is an exquisite example of both the craft of embroidery as

well as the ingenuity of the maker’s skill. The deep purple ground is covered

with all-over embroidery of a myriad of flowers and leaves in all shapes,

sizes, and colours. Scrolling around the neckline is a border of a single vine

bearing a five-petalled rosette alternating with a leaf. Around this is a narrow

border bearing bunches of grapes and the chinar leaf, stretching around the

entire edge of the

choga

including the cuffs of the sleeves.

The embroidered pattern is subtly arranged in diagonal lines, resembling

the

khat-rast

design. Striped

jamawar

fabric, referred to as

khat-rast

–

literally meaning ‘straight road’ – first appeared in the Kashmiri tradition

in the mid-18

century. As with all shawl designs that became more

complex over time, the

khat-rast

first emerged as narrow red and white

stripes featuring small

butis

to more elaborate ones, such as seen in the

present lot, where the stripes became broader and more varied in width

and are filled with more complex designs.