ID Number

Title

Item Name

Culture

Material

Manufacturing Technique

Date Made

Place Made

Date Collected

Place Collected

Date Owned

Owner

Acquisition Date

Source

Measurements

Item Classes

Condition

Accession Number

History Of Use

Ikat robes were worn by men, women and children of various cultures. Women’s robes incorporate extra fullness under the sleeves, for wearing ease, and the front opening is typically wide at the chest area, to show the lavish jewelry that women often wore. Robes were worn on top of a shirt, tunic or dress and with wide drawstring pants. Several robes may have been worn at once, layered one over another, to display rank and/or wealth. The colourful printed cotton textiles which were typically used to line robes made in Central Asia was manufactured in Russia for the Central Asian market, as was the bias-cut striped cotton textile that was used as facings on all the edges (called the lapse). Following the Russian Revolution, the workshops that made ikat robes like this one, which had been organized around family and social networks, were disbanded by the Soviet government, replaced by collective practices in factories. Eventually the making and wearing of ikat robes disappeared.

Narrative

Joanna Staniszkis purchased this robe and most other robes in the 3231 accession in Istanbul, shortly after the dissolution of the USSR; the robes had been previously stored in trunks for a considerable length of time.

Specific Techniques

Warp-ikat technique. Egg wash glaze. The decorative trim on this robe was produced by a loop manipulation technique, which requires two people working together. One worker holds multiple loops of thread, of various colours, under tension with his fingers, creating warp sheds that are switched between the fingers of one hand and those of the other hand, while another worker inserts a weft into each shed and attaches the threads down onto the surface of the garment with a needle. The result is a multicoloured band with a repeated pattern.

Description

Man’s full length, multi-coloured robe or coat with long tapered sleeves, open in front from neck to the hem, with no fasteners; front right and left edges form a V and do not overlap except at the hemline. Four-colour warp ikat textile, with silk warp and cotton weft; ram’s horn, tambourine and sun disc motifs predominate. All outer edges are trimmed with narrow black, white and yellow braid, applied using loop manipulation method. Lined with machine printed cotton broadcloth, with small off-white circular motifs on a light red-orange background; all edges are faced on the inside with multi-coloured striped cotton strips, cut on the bias.

Iconographic Meaning

The decorative braid or embroidery on all outside edges of ikat robes was believed to be an essential part of the garment, as it prevented evil spirits from infecting the wearer.