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This information was automatically generated from data provided by MOA: University of British Columbia. It has been standardized to aid in finding and grouping information within the RRN. Accuracy and meaning should be verified from the Data Source tab.

Description

Child’s embroidered dress with off-centre front neckline opening. A densely embroidered panel, trimmed with mirrors, surrounds the neck opening in the front and extends over the shoulders to form a back yoke. There is a large pocket inside the front of the dress that is accessible through the neckline slit; the purple machine printed cotton textile that forms the pocket is visible at the neckline. The flared skirt is embroidered with scattered multicoloured geometric figures on both the front and the back. The orange silk textile of the skirt is heavily damaged, exposing the red cotton underlining. Triangular, embroidered gussets are inserted at the sides, under the sleeves. The round neck opening closes with a loop fastener on the right hand side. Sleeve bands of embroidered textile (orange; purple; rose) are trimmed with sequins, rickrack and braid. The hem is finished with silver metallic braid (3 cm wide). The entire garment is underlined with cotton textile. A label made of off-white cotton textile, printed with a rubber stamp and handwritten with ball-point ink is attached at the neck edge on the back with a loose running stitch.

History Of Use

"Colours of the Indus" refers to this type of garment as a girl’s dress. However, Razia Ahmed states that it is not unusual for boys up to the age of 6 years to wear colourful embroidered clothing like this.

Narrative

This garment was purchased by the owners of Terlingua, a retail shop in Calgary, from an agent or dealer in Kabul, Afghanistan, and exported to Canada from there. The dress was offered for retail sale at Terlingua previous to its acquisition by the Museum of Anthropology.

Iconographic Meaning

The scattered multicoloured geometric figures on the skirt of the dress may be representations of human, animal and vegetative forms.

Item History

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