The breeches have a suede ground, and the embroidery is machine worked in chain stitch with motifs of stylised flowers, some of which in large circles.
The Zur-Khane is an ancient tradition that is still very popular in Iran, but in the past was also popular among the Tajiks and other Persian speaking groups in Afghanistan and neighbouring lands. It is a ritualised form of working out, using various tools, such as a club and a bow. Participants wear special clothing, including a type of half-long breeches, such as the example in the TRC in Leiden. A pair of clubs (mil) used in an Iranian zurkhane, early 21st century, are also part of the TRC collection (TRC 2017.3043a-b).
See the TRC online exhibition (2017), 'Afghan Dress', section 15 and the TRC online exhibition (2017), 'Dressing the Stans: Textiles, dress and jewellery from Central Asia', section 8. See in particular the entry 'Snapshot: Embroidered Zurkhaneh Breeches', in: Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood and Willem Vogelsang, Encyclopedia of Embroidery from Central Asia, the Iranian Plateau and the Indian Subcontinent (London: Bloomsbury Publishing 2021), pp. 159-160.
TRC online collection, TRC 2016.1772.
WV, 11 May 2021
Illustration: 'Cheif [sic] wrestler at Kabul.' Water colour by Godfrey Thomas Vigne, 1835/1836. The wrestler is wearing a half-long, embroidered pair of trousers, similar to the garment in the TRC collection. Copyright Victoria and Albert Museum, London, acc. no. SD.1109.