Khosai (Uruzgan, Afghanistan)

Kosai felt coat from Uruzgan, Afghanistan (2010). Kosai felt coat from Uruzgan, Afghanistan (2010). Courtesy Textile Research Centre, Leiden, acc. no. TRC 2010.0087.

The Textile Research Centre (TRC) in Leiden houses a traditional felt coat from southern Afghanistan (TRC 2010.0087). This type of garment is called a khosai and is already illustrated in Mounstuart Elphinsone's Account of the Kindom of Caubul.., which was first published in 1815. This type of coat is still worn by Pashtun nomads (Kuchis) in the region.

The example held by the TRC was given to Willem Vogelsang in 2009 by the district chief in Derawud, in the southwest of Uruzgan province, southern Afghanistan. The garment was specially made for the occasion. It is decorated with some simple geometric designs embroidered down the front of the garment and on the sleeves.

See also the TRC digital exhibition Afghan Dress (TRC, Leiden, 2017) and the TRC digital exhibition Dressing The Stans: Textiles, Dress and Jewellery from Central Asia (TRC, Leiden, 2017).

TRC online catalogue (retrieved 17th September 2016).

WV

Last modified on Wednesday, 25 April 2018 08:42
Published in Daily and general garments and textiles
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