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Kurta from Pakistan

Kurta, choli and odhni (shirt, bodice and veil) from Lahore, Pakistan. c. 1855. Kurta, choli and odhni (shirt, bodice and veil) from Lahore, Pakistan. c. 1855. Copyright Victoria and Albert Museum, London, acc. no. 6157(IS).

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London houses a woman's shirt from Lahore, in what is now Pakistan. It is dated to the mid-nineteenth century. The shirt, locally called a kurta, is made of cotton with silk and metal thread embroidery, and sequins. It is 71 cm long and 156 cm across the sleeves.

The kurta was worn together with a small bodice (choli, also illustrated), and a large veil (odhni, also illustrated). A long skirt, also to be worn with this set, is missing. This set of garments was probably housed in the India Museum, London, before being transferred to the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria and Albert Museum), in 1879.

V&A online catalogue (retrieved 20th December 2016).

WV

Last modified on Saturday, 06 May 2017 19:58