Wedding Sari Item Number: 1546/1 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

A long rectangular blue silk gauze sari embellished with metallic gold representations with red, green, light blue, and dark blue of leaves, branches, and flowers. The motifs in the main design field are arranged in diagonal rows. The long edges are embellished with rows of gold acanthus leaf-like swirls, interspersed with red, blue, and white dots. There is a very narrow silver binding at the edges.

Cultural Context

ceremonial

Narrative

In a letter to the Museum in 1992 the donor stated: “This saree was donated to me by the parents of my husband immediately after getting married in 1958. His parents were [from] Hyderabad, Andra Prades (sic), India. My mother-in-law told me that it was over 100 years old (as it was during a visit in 1962, it would now be over 130 years old); that it was woven secretly at home during Prohibition (the period when Indians could not weave clothing); that it was one of the best specimens of sarees made in Hyderabad."

Specific Techniques

Simple gauze weave with discontinuous supplementary wefts. Uppada (weaving style) with zari (metal thread work).

Item History

What

Name
Wedding Sari
Identification Number
1546/1
Type of Item
sari
Material
silk fibre, cotton fibre, gold metal, silver metal ? and dye
Manufacturing Technique
woven
Overall
height 112.0 cm, width 522.0 cm

Who

Culture
South India
Previous Owner
Abbasi Begum, Syed Nadir Ali Khan and Aurora Rojo-Gomez
Received from
Aurora Rojo-Gomez (Donor)

Where

Holding Institution
MOA: University of British Columbia
Made in
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India

When

Creation Date
during 1860
Ownership Date
before 1958 and before October 26, 1992
Acquisition Date
on October 26, 1992

Other

Item Classes
textiles
Condition
fair
Accession Number
1546/0001