Afghanistan developed out of a Pashtun kingdom that was founded in the middle of the eighteenth century. The Pashtuns form an ethnic group, known in India and Pakistan as the Pathans, which still constitutes the majority population of the modern Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The appellation 'Afghan' is often still used, in its restricted meaning, to only some of the Pashtun tribes.

The country as we know it today, however, was created in the late nineteenth century as a buffer state between the British Indian Empire to the east and the Tsarist Russian realm to the north. This was the time of what is often called “The Great Game,” in which Britain and Russia vied for the domination of the highlands of Iran and Afghanistan. After Britain and Russia had decided to divide their mutual spheres of influence, the borders of modern Afghanistan were eventually laid out by officials from both countries, and these lines (the so-called Durand line) cut straight through the land of the Pashtuns. With the independence from Britain of Pakistan, in 1947, the majority of the Pashtuns now live in Pakistan.

The location of Afghanistan.Today the borders of Afghanistan enclose a large number of other groups. Afghanistan is, in fact, a country that is home to more than fifty different ethnic groups, many of them with their own language and cultural characteristics, including a wide variety of textile and dress traditions.

The somewhat artificial configuration of the country, however, does not mean that modern Afghanistan is a loose amalgamation of ethnic groups. Despite a civil war that started in the late 1970s, Afghanistan passed through a period of gradual nation building from the end of the nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. It may one day develop again into a more politically homogeneous state, because of the history shared by its inhabitants, their many common cultural characteristics, and the continuous threat from neighbouring countries.

The postcards must have been embroidered by machine. But which machine can imitate the free-style embroidery that was used for these cards?  A machine that can do so was invented in 1828 by Josué Heilmann (1796-1848) in Mulhouse, France. The machine was further developed over the following decades by various engineers and companies in Britain, France, Germany and Switzerland.

Print of a hand embroidery machine, late 19th century (TRC collection).Comparable machines were used well into the twentieth century for embroidering items for a lady's dressing table, such as hair brushes, comb cases, mirror bags and other essential items. These are often mistaken for being hand embroidered.

And in various sizes, this type of machine is still used in other, both domestic and factory settings. It is being used among others for haute couture embroidery, but also for decorating delicate handkerchiefs, shawls, table cloths and other embellished items. Switzerland remains an important source for these products.

Basically, this hand-embroidery machine uses a pantograph to transfer the stitches. Each stitch is drawn out on a large-scale design and then its position is traced by an operator using a point on one arm of the pantograph. A series of needles responds to the movement of the pantograph arm. Each needle has an eye in the middle for the thread, and two sharp ends.

Detail of a hand embroidery machine in use. Textilmuseum, St. Gallen, Switzerland.

The needle is passed backwards and forwards through the ground cloth using a pincer system (double-sided pincer wagons), so imitating the action and appearance of hand embroidery. Each colour in the design is individually stitched (so all the blue parts, for example, are worked, and then the machine is re-threaded with a new colour), until the design is complete.

The collection of the Textile Research Centre includes a number of embroidered postcards and related objects, most of them being produced during or just after the First World War. The photographs below provide access to the TRC online catalogue. Just click on the illustration.

During the First World War, many Allied officers and soldiers based in France sent silk embroidered postcards to their loved ones back home, in particular to Britain and Canada. From 1917, when American soldiers had arrived in northern France, they also started to send these cards to their families and friends. Many of the cards were illustrated with patriotic symbols, flags, slogans, or sentimental texts.

The embroidery has often been said to be the work of Belgian and French refugee women, as a means to eke out a meagre existence. However, it is evident that the embroidery was carried out by commercial firms using hand embroidery machines. Such firms also produced embroidered cards for the German market, although with different symbols and texts!

The TRC would like to thank Dr. Ian Collins for his help in collecting various postcards and his help in writing the text.

For further information, see a TRC blog of 18 December 2015 and a special entry in TRC Needles.

Sources:

• COLLINS, Ian (2001). An Illustrated History of the Embroidered Silk Postcard, Radlett: Gabrian Antiques.
• COLLINS, Ian (n.d.). Embroidered silk postcards (website).
• LAFFIN, JOHN (1988). World War 1 in Postcards, Gloucester: Alan Sutton.
• RADLEY, C (1985). The Silk Postcard, Essex: R.F. Postcards (private publication).
• ROEBUCK, Malcolm J. (2000). Stevengraphs Bookmarks and Postcards, etc: World War 1 Postcards. Click here.
  
• STROBEL, Heino (2012). The Beginnings of Machine Embroidery in Saxony, available here [retrieved 5th July 2017].

Videos showing early hand-embroidery machines in use:

• http://youtu.be/g9n1CYs9MaM 
• http://youtu.be/a5ZYZsFnhNU 
• http://youtu.be/_vYCMz-M2zs

For this online exhibition:

• Author: Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood
• Web-design: Joost Koopman
• Exhibition design: Willem Vogelsang
• Publisher: TRC Leiden.
• Year of publication: 2017.
• Copyright: All illustrations of objects housed in the TRC collection can be used free of charge, but please add to the caption: "Courtesy Textile Research Centre, Leiden" and the pertinent accession number of the object.

The Kurds number around thirty million people and are the world’s largest stateless nation. They are the fourth largest ethnic group in the Middle East, after the Arabs, Turks and Iranians. They live in a region encompassing parts of Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria – also referred to as Kurdistan. In addition, there are two main enclaves of Kurds living in northeastern Iran and in central Turkey.

The Kurds themselves are not only divided geographically, but also politically, tribally, linguistically and religiously. The majority are Sunni Muslims with a minority of Baha’i, Christians, Jews, Kakeyis, Yarsans and Yezidis. They have their own language (Kurdi), with three main dialect groups: Kurmanji in north Kurdistan, Sorani in central Kurdistan and Pehlewani in south Kurdistan.

Kurdish man from Adiyaman, Turkey. Private collection.Men’s dress

Traditional Kurdish dress varies according to the community people belong to. For men, the main dress is the rank-o-chokha, which consists of a jacket and a pair of wide trousers, which are especially iconic for Kurdish dress in general. In southern, central and eastern Kurdistan very wide trousers are preferred, while Kurds from the west prefer a straight cut.

The rank-o-chokha used to come in a wide variety of colours and patterns, but today more subdued colours, such as brown, blue and green are preferred. Under the jacket men wear a long-sleeved, collarless shirt. A yelek, a sleeveless vest, can be worn under, over, or even instead of the jacket.

The different types of sashes (kemar, pestand, shella or shellema) tied around the waist are associated with different groups. For example, dark colours combined with a paisley or floral motif are popular in Turkey and Iran, a green colour indicates descent from the Hashemites (the House of the Prophet Mohammed), and black versions are worn by the Yezidi. The zbun, a long robe with or without sleeves, is worn instead of the rank-o-chokha and is combined with an abaya (a long robe of Arab origin) in western Kurdistan.

Complete outfit of a Jalali Kurdish woman from Iran (TRC 1999.0332a-f). Click illustration for TRC catalogue entry (trousers).In some regions, shepherds and farmers also wear a sheepskin or large felt coat to protect them from the winter weather. The traditional headgear consists of a skullcap or a fez, often combined with a cloth wrapped around it to make a turban. In the past these caps were typically conical in shape.

Like the sash, the style of turban varies per region. To give a few examples, Turkish Kurds wear extra-large turbans, the Barzani tribe use a red-checked kufiya as a turban cloth, the Yezidi also wear the red-checked version, but inside out, while other groups wear the black checked kufiya.

Women’s dress

Like men’s dress, traditional Kurdish women’s dress is very much dependent on the region. Typically, the outfits are very colourful (except among the Yezidi) and consist of several layers, starting with baggy trousers called darpe, followed by an underdress and on top a krass, a long diaphanous dress with long triangular sleeves that are richly decorated with embroidery or sequins. On top is worn a sukhma, a short buttonless jacket with or without sleeves. Instead of the sukhma, a kawa is sometimes worn. This is a long, often elaborately decorated coat.

Iraqi Kurdish woman's outfit (TRC 2004.0043a-d). Click illustration for TRC catalogue entry (trousers).

The outfit is girded by a (metal) belt or a sash. In addition, a dasmal, a triangular sheer piece of fabric, may be thrown over the shoulders and in parts of northern Kurdistan an apron is worn. In some areas, Kurdish women have taken over the overgarments worn by their neighbours, such as the black abaya worn in Iraq. Similarly, in the past few decades some women have adopted the hijab headscarf.

Traditional headgear knows a great deal of variety: Women wear a long scarf in the west of Kurdistan. In the centre and parts of the east they wear a skullcap, in some areas embellished with coins and chains, and with a sheer scarf draped over it. In other parts of the east the women cover their heads with a turban; and in northeastern Syria and northern Iraq the women may don a fez decorated with a gold or silver disk and pendants.

The Syriac Orthodox Church is one of the Oriental Christian Churches that still use ancient Syriac in their liturgies. Ancient Syriac itself is a dialect of Aramaic, which is closely related to the Aramaic spoken in the time of Jesus Christ. Syriac Churches are nowadays mainly found in the Middle East, in Kerala (southern India) and in Europe and the United States. In daily life they use neo-Aramaic dialects, such as Turoyo and the languages of the countries where they reside.

The Syriac Orthodox Church, also known as the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch or the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, has some five million followers, who are now spread throughout the world. Like the Copts, they are generally described as ‘miaphysites’, which means that they regard Jesus Christ as having one nature; that is, they do not separate the human and the divine in Christ as the so-called ‘dyophysites’ do. Following the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, they separated from the other Churches, including the Roman Catholics.

Emblem of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the EastBoth men and women of the Syriac Orthodox Church in the Middle East wear garments that are Western in style and similar to those worn by many other groups in the Middle East. When attending church services, many women will cover their heads, like Coptic women. Outside church contexts, Christian women often stand out because they do not wear a headscarf.

Syriac clergy

The basic garment worn by Syriac clergy is the black cassock, namely an ankle-length gown with long sleeves. Both monks and priests wear the cassock and a skullcap (phiro). In addition, a monk will wear a short hood (eskimo), similar to the one worn by Coptic monks (the qalansuwa). Syriac bishops wear a cassock, a black skullcap and hood, but with a red cummerbund. The outfit worn by a Syriac Patriarch includes the skullcap, cassock, cummerband and a tallish cap, all of which are in red.

Finial of a bishop's staff, which he holds during the liturgy and when in public (TRC 2017.0393a). The finial is characterised by the paired snakes, symbolizing wisdom. Click on the illustration for the TRC catalogue entry.During a service the priest will wear a complicated set of layered garments, which consists of a white gown or alb (kutino), a stole (hamnikho), a girdle (zenoro), separate sleeves (zende) and a cope (phayno). In addition, a prelate wears a head covering (masnaphto), a pallium (batrashil) and a diamond shaped panel (sakro) attached to the girdle. Many of these items are elaborately decorated with embroidery.

Especially during the celebration of the Holy Qurbono (the Eucharist), the priest also puts on msone, ceremonial shoes which must not be made of leather. As in the Coptic Church, ordinary Syriac men ordained as deacons can take part in church services, wearing a white kutino and a stole (uroro) in a specific manner that indicates their rank.

The Zoroastrians are the followers of one of the oldest extant religions that base their beliefs on a written text. Its roots allegedly date back to the teachings of an Iranian prophet called Zarathustra, who became known in ancient Greece as Zoroaster. Reputedly living in the late second millennium BC, somewhere in South Central Asia or eastern Iran, Zarathustra taught a dualistic religion in which the creator-god and Lord Wisdom, Ahura Mazda, fights a cosmic struggle against the God of Evil, Angra Mainyu.

Ahura Mazda’s followers are asked to help him in this struggle, by Good Thoughts, Good Deeds and Good Words. People thus have a choice, between supporting Good or Evil. For the Zoroastrians, the world is the arena for the battle between Truth and Falsehood. In the end, Ahura Mazda will win, and all his rightful followers will join him in paradise on earth.

Zoroastrian fire temple in Yazd, Iran (@FriendlyIran).

One of the characteristics of the Zoroastrians is their attempt not to defile the earth. Corpses of the deceased therefore used to be exposed on hill tops or on man-made tower-like structures. Nowadays the dead are often buried in concrete graves. Fire and water are regarded as the two main cleansing agencies. The Zoroastrians are also known for their fire temples, the most important of which is the eternal fire still being worshipped in Yazd.

The Holy Book of the Zoroastrians is generally known as the Avesta, which contains the words of Zarathustra. Zoroastrianism used to be the dominant religion of Iran until the advent of Islam in the seventh century AD. It has had a profound influence on Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Their number of followers in Iran is about 25,000, and their main centre in Iran is the city of Yazd. Over the centuries many Zoroastrians have fled religious persecution in Iran and moved to South Asia, where they settled mainly along the west coast of India and became known as the Parsis. Their number in India is estimated at some 60,000.

Outfit of a Zoroastrian woman from Yazd, Iran . TRC 1998.0274 (dress) and TRC 1998.0352 (shawl). Click the illustration for the TRC catalogue entry for the shawl.Secular dress

For the last few hundred years, the garments worn by Zoroastrian men in Iran have not differed from that of their Muslim neighbours. In contrast, the attire of Zoroastrian women was distinct, although in the last forty years or so, their garments have become more comparable with their Muslim counterparts.

Traditional Zoroastrian women’s clothing is made up of four important items, namely a pair of striped trousers (shalwar), a wide dress (pirahan), a triangular cap (latchak) and a large rectangular head covering (batch). The dress consists of a bodice with attached sleeves and a very large, striped skirt. In winter, many women wear a large silk or woollen covering called a chador.

Sacred garments

Traditional Zoroastrians, both men and women, wear a sacred shirt (sudre) and belt (kushti) under their clothing. These garments are given to a Zoroastrian boy or girl during his or her initiation. The shirt is made out of white cotton and should be kept very clean. The belt is worn directly over the shirt and, again, is made of cotton. These garments are worn underneath all other items of attire.

As an ethno-religious group, Jews are both a people and members of a religious faith. Slightly less than half the world’s Jews live in Israel, while most of the other half reside in the United States. The name ‘Jew’ comes from the ancient kingdom of Judah, while Jews were also known historically as ‘children of Israel’. Over the millennia, Jews were divided into different groups according to origin and practice.

Today, the most common designations refer to rite and visible religiosity. The main current prayer rites are Ashkenazi (from the medieval Jewish name given to Central and Eastern Europe), Sephardi (from the medieval Jewish name given to Spain and Portugal), Yemenite and Ethiopian. In the US, Jews are divided into Orthodox, Conservative and Reform, while in Israel they are Hiloni (secular), Massorti (traditional), Dati (religious) and Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox), without clear dividing lines between them. Haredim are further divided into Misnagdim (opponents) and Hassidim (devotees). The latter are further organized in different ‘royal courts’. There are many languages traditionally associated with the Jewish community, including several types of Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino and Judeo-Arabic, while Aramaic is used extensively in the liturgy

Traditional Orthodox Jewish woman's outfit for the Sabbath. TRC 2017.0135 (shawl) and TRC 2017.0136 (dress). Click the illustration for the TRC catalogue entry for the shawl.‘Humble’ dress

Jews are required to wear ‘humble’ clothing (tzniut). This has led to many interpretations over the years affected to a great extent by the surrounding non-Jewish communities. Both men and women are expected to wear long clothing and a head covering, especially as adults. For Haredi women this typically entails sleeves to the elbow combined with conservative skirts over the knees and stockings.

Men are further required to wear a garment with tzitzit (special tassels) at their four corners, as ordained in Numbers 15:38 and Deuteronomy 22:12. This is done by wearing an everyday tallit katan and by wearing an additional tallit (gadol) during prayer. The former is a poncho-like garment worn under or over ordinary clothes, while the latter is a large shawl draped over the shoulders or the head. They are often white among Sephardi Jews and white with black or blue stripes among Ashkenazi Jews.

Jewish skullcap (kippa) with a stylised depiction of Jerusalem. Israel 2016 (TRC 2017.0188). Click illustration for TRC catalogue entry.Headdress

Men wear a small skullcap, called a kippa or yarmulke (probably from the Aramaic phrase ‘fearful of the King’) with an additional hat among Ultra-Orthodox Jews. According to the Talmud, holy words may not be spoken in the presence of a tefakh of hair (a palm’s width). This has led to interpretations ranging from partially covering the hair with a scarf (shavis or tichel), to covering all the hair with a snood, to Hassidic women shaving their hair upon marriage and replacing it with a wig (sheitel), itself sometimes covered by an additional head covering.

One of a pair of tefillin (phylacteries), Israel, early 21st century (TRC 2017.0228a).During prayer, men wear two types of tefillin (phylacteries), for the head and the arm. The tefillin containers enclose specific verses from the Torah and are made of animal hide. The black leather straps are wrapped seven times around the arm, signifying the Sabbath, and around the hand in the shape of the Hebrew letter signifying the name of God. Hassidic Jews also wear a gartel, a cord belt, during prayer to separate the head from the loins.

Ultra-orthodox men’s clothing

Hassidic men (and some non-Hassidic Haredi Jews) stand out because of their traditional, East European inspired outfits, beards and long sidelocks (peyot). They wear a black suit with a white shirt and a long black coat (rekel). For the Sabbath and other festive occasions, the weekly coat is replaced with a kaftan or bekishe, a silk (or polyester) coat, combined with a fur head cover, typically the wide shtreimel. Some groups from Jerusalem wear a gold-coloured kaftan instead. A white over-robe, called a kittel, is worn by Orthodox Ashkenazi Jews on their wedding, for certain holidays and eventually as a burial shroud.

The Samaritans constitute a separate ethnic and religious group that lives in modern Israel. They claim direct descent from the Israelites and say that their ancestors lived in this part of the world from before the Jewish diaspora.

They specifically identify themselves with the Jewish tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, and the priestly clan of the Levites. The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh were traditionally linked to ancient Samaria, which covered much of what is generally called the West Bank. The religion of the Samaritans is closely linked to that of Judaism and is based on the Samaritan Pentateuch.

Ruins on the summit of Mount Gerizim on the site of the Samaritan temple. Wood engraving after Harry Fenn, 1881-1884.

The Samaritans claim that their religion is that of the ancient Israelites before many of them were exiled to Babylonia in the sixth century BC and is different from that of the Israelites who returned from exile.

One of the main differences is the site of their holiest temple. According to the post-exilic Jews, it is located on the “Mountain of Blessing” in Jerusalem; according to the Samaritans, it is on Mount Gerizim (near Nablus).

Nowadays, there are at least 1500 Samaritans remaining, who live in or near Mount Gerizim and in the town of Holon, close to Tel Aviv.

Secular attire

Most Samaritan men and women wear Western-style clothing in public. However, when attending religious services some women wear long-sleeved garments and a cloth over their heads. Many men will put on a long and dark coloured gown and/or a long white gown (both called jallaba) that has 22 buttons across the front. These represent the 22 letters of the script of the (Samaritan) Pentateuch.

In addition, men will often wear a white skull cap, similar to those worn by Muslim men, or a red tarbush. Sometimes the tarbush is covered with a turban. This head covering is made from a piece of cloth that is decorated with chain stitch embroidery (ghabani) and originally came from Syria. Another popular form of head covering is a black beret, which is associated with Samaritan men from the town of Holon, near Tel Aviv.

Priestly attireSamaritans marking Passover on Mount Gerizim, 2006.

The priestly attire associated with the Samaritans varies depending on their seniority. Much of it is very similar to that worn by secular men. Some of the more senior priests, however, wear a jallaba and on top a brightly coloured gown (gumbaz), which is kept in place with a cummerbund (zunnar) of some kind.

Again, the headgear is based on the tarbush and turban combination, but with a red cloth worn during the week and a white cloth worn during services and on the Sabbath. The priest carrying the Torah will wear a silk prayer shawl called a tzitzit-tallit, which is often fastened to his tarbush. The tzitzit-tallit is very similar to the large prayer shawl (tallit) used by Jewish men.

What exactly should be understood as Palestine is an extremely political question. The southern Levant was known as ‘Palaistine’ by Herodotus, while the Romans called it ‘Syria Palaestina’. One of the most important factors in the making of modern Palestine was the British Mandate of Palestine (1922-1948) and the subsequent designation of three-quarters of this area as the State of Israel. The ensuing Arab-Israeli War resulted in an exodus of Palestinians to surrounding countries such as Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, where many were housed in refugee camps.

Violent clashes have marked the history of Palestine and Israel ever since. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the ‘State of Palestine’ has referred to the West Bank and the Gaza strip, although many Palestinians feel this is only a small part of their country

Palestinian flag dress, produced in Syria by ANAT (TRC 2003.0005a). Click illustration for TRC catalogue entry.Palestinian embroidery

The Palestinians have a rich dress tradition, especially when it comes to women’s clothing. Different regions, like Bethlehem, Ramallah and Bayt Dajan, had different traditions and more generally there was a distinction between urban, village and Bedouin styles.

Although other techniques of decoration were used, embroidery has been the most important since the second half of the nineteenth century. Little girls would learn their skills from their mothers, and embroidery was an important factor in a girl’s eligibility as a bride. The patterns and styles of the decoration on a woman’s dress reflected her background and social status.

After 1948, these traditions largely dissolved, but embroidery remained an important aspect of Palestinian identity. The 1960s saw the development of the six-branch dress. This dress, usually made from sateen or acrylics, was decorated with an embroidered chest panel and six embroidered bands running from the waist to the hem. These dresses were manufactured for the foreign market and tourists, but also became popular locally.

The same goes for the shawal dress of the 1980s, which consisted of pre-embroidered panels that were sewn together to form a dress with a sleeker silhouette than the traditional thob. Workshops set up in refugee camps by aid organizations played an important role in the rise of these new forms of Palestinian dress.

Embroidered dresses such as these have become part of Palestinian folklore and are now worn by older women, and by younger women for Palestinian flag dress said to have been designed by the wife of Yasser Arafat, the former Palestinian leader (TRC 2003.0007). Click illustration for TRC catalogue entry.special occasions. During the first Intifada in the late 1980s some women incorporated signs of protest into the embroidery of these dresses, including the colours of the flag of Palestine, the Dome of the Rock, the dogtooth-check of the kufiya scarf, or the texts ‘Filastin’ or PLO. These dresses are also referred to as flag or Intifada dresses. They were not a widespread phenomenon, but forms of these are still produced, mainly to sell to members of the Palestinian community and Palestine-sympathizers abroad.

One other form of clothing closely tied up to the Palestinian identity is the kufiya scarf, especially the version with a black and white dog-tooth motif. The kufiya is worn throughout the Middle East, but has become associated with the PLO and the Palestinian cause since the 1960s, partly because Yasser Arafat made a point of always wearing one. It was worn to hide the faces of the stone-throwers of the first Intifada.

The scarf also found its way into Western fashion. First worn by anti-Vietnam protesters in the 1960s and Palestine sympathizers, it became a fashionable anti-establishment accessory in the 1970 and 1980s. It peaked in popularity just after 2007, when it featured on the catwalk as part of the ‘military chic’ trend. Subsequently it was adopted by high-street retailers – most notably (and ironically) by Urban Outfitters as an ‘anti-war scarf’.