Trousers for a Zoroastrian Woman

Pair of mid-19th century trousers for a Zoroastrian woman in Iran. Pair of mid-19th century trousers for a Zoroastrian woman in Iran. Copyright Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK, acc. no. IS.9A-1954.

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London holds a pair of cotton, silk embroidered trousers that date to the mid-nineteenth century and originate from the Zoroastrian community in Iran, and allegedly from the town of Yazd, which is still populated by a large group of adherents of the ancient faith of Zarathustra, also known in the West as Zoroaster.

The upper part of the trousers are made of a fine blue cotton, and so are the cuffs at the ankles. In between a much coarser, blue cotton is used for the legs. These are covered with strips of fine cotton that have been embroidered in a lace-like pattern of red and white, and in red and black. Red or black silk threads are placed along the seams and stitched in place through the fine material of the embroidered strips and the underlying coarser material. Small rosettes were embroidered on the strips, the stitches also going through the coarse cotton.

Strips of cotton with block printing were added to the inside of the legs. 

V&A online catalogue (retrieved 18 June 2016).

WV

 

Last modified on Tuesday, 11 May 2021 10:23
Published in Daily and general garments and textiles
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