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Life was difficult in 19
th
century Iran for Zoroastrians
and there were a number of regulations governing
themthatwere intended tomarginalise anddistinguish
them from the majority Muslim population. One
directive included a strict dress code. Zoroastrian men
were obliged to wear garments of yellow ochre or
unbleached cloth. In Yazd and Kerman, Zoroastrians
were not permitted to buy cloth by the yard. As a
result, shopkeepers would collect strips of leftover
fabric and leave these in bins outside their shops
for Zoroastrians to buy. These were then laboriously
stitched together to make garments such as the loose
voluminous
shalwar
and
kamiz
for women.
The present lot consists of two pieces of textiles sewn
during the 19
th
and early 20
th
century for Zoroastrian
women in Yazd. They are sections from one-leg of a
multi-pieced
shalwar
worn by Zoroastrian brides. They
are made of narrow strips (27 for a and 23 for b) joined
by fine running stitches referred to as
dandan-e-mush
or
‘the teeth of a mouse.' The colours chosen for the strips
range from black to yellow, maroon, blue, and white,
to red and green. These refer to the concept of
haft-
rang
or seven colours, that were considered auspicious,
implying that the wearer was ritually pure. Each piece
is embroidered with vertical lines of small motifs such
as the three-legged ass, Cypress tree and the
kar
fish,
taken from Zoroastrian mythology.
These rare
shalwar
pieces share a close connection to
Sindhi embroidery. It would have been worn under
a long, loose-fitting
kamiz
along with a head scarf.
These lots were acquired by Jasleen Dhamija during
her travels in Iran in 1971.
Iranian Zoroastrian Costume, Yazd, early 20
th
century.
From the collection of Fereydoun Ave
Reproduced from Sarah Stewart ed.,
The Everlasting Flame: Zoroastrianism
in History and Imagination,
London and New York: I B Tauris, 2013, p. 160
Birjand in eastern Iran, bordering Balochistan, has
a strong Zoroastrian influence. This simple shawl
or wrap, known as a
chador
(c),
gets its golden hue
from a natural golden coloured cotton cultivated in
Birjand. It has a narrow woven border of squares and
diamonds woven in seven auspicious colours. The
corner symbols on a stand represent the ‘Sacred Eye.’
The
chador
worn by Zoroastrian women is shorter
and comes up to the calf, while Muslim women in Iran
wore
chadors
that extended to their ankles.
45
ZOROASTRIAN
WOMAN'S SHALWAR
SECTIONS AND
CHADORSHAB
a) YAZD, IRAN, LATE 19TH
CENTURY
Handspun and handwoven,
hand embroidered, cotton lining,
natural dyes
23 x 29.75 in (59 x 76 cm)
b) YAZD, IRAN, CIRCA 1930
Handspun and handwoven
cotton, hand embroidered,
printed cotton, natural dyes
18 x 43.5 in (46 x 111 cm)
c) BIRJAND, IRAN, CIRCA 1930
Handspun and handwoven
natural golden-coloured cotton,
hand embroidered with silk
thread
86.75 x 46.75 in (220.4 x 119.1 cm)
$ 8,335 - 11,365
Rs 5,50,000 - 7,50,000
(Set of three)
NONEXPORTABLE
a b c