Ladakh Embroidery

A woman from Ladakh in northern India, with her traditional headdress. A woman from Ladakh in northern India, with her traditional headdress.

The people of Ladakh in the mountains of northern India tend to wear a variety of plain coloured garments that are not embroidered. Instead decoration is emphasised, especially among the married women, by the use of jewellery of various types. The main exception with respect to embroidery is the hat worn by married women.

This form of headgear is tall with a flat crown and a semi-circular brim. The hat is made from layers of padded and quilted cloth and is often (but not always) embroidered with individual, geometric motifs on the sides, and a decorative band around the front. Traditionally this decoration was carried out by hand, but for many years machine forms have been used. Often the embroidery is carried out using a metal thread, especially silver forms.

Digital source of illustration (retrieved 9th July 2016).

GVE

Last modified on Wednesday, 31 May 2017 15:36
Published in Headgear
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