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Description

Woman’s dress with fitted bodice, standing collar, long full skirt and long sleeves; made of coarse, deep red wool textile. The opening is at the centre front, with a rectangular extension that overlaps the bodice front, right over left. No fastener. The extension is embellished with decorative piping and three decorative cloth buttons at the waist. The textile was woven in narrow strips (about 20 cm) that are pieced together at the selvages to provide sufficient widths. The full skirt is gathered onto the bodice with small pleats; there are 32 cm slits in the hem at each side. All edges are faced with bias strips of turquoise/blue cotton broadcloth (roughly 5 cm wide). Hand sewn.

History Of Use

The gonche is a coat dress, part of traditional everyday costume; commonly worn by Ladakhi women. It is similar in style to the man's kos coat. It differs by pleating at the waist and is made in maroon only. Traditionally made of handwoven wool, the gonche of the majority of women of Leh are now sewn from Indian, machine-made wool, corduroy, or velvet, in black, maroon, or brown. It is held closed at the front with a sash (skirax) at the waist and perhaps with a piece of jewelry. The deep red colour is traditional. The wool for the textile is produced in the home. Sheep are shorn once a year, and the wool is processed, spun, woven on a narrow loom and dyed in the home. The resulting textile measures about 20 cm in width. Sewn by hand, using traditional techniques. Similar to other garments worn throughout the Himalayan region, which are adaptive to a cold, windy climate and horse travel.