Important Notice

KASIMABAD, IRAN, CIRCA 1930
Handspun and handwoven silk warp and weft, natural and synthetic dyes
69 x 72.5 in (175.4 x 184.6 cm)


Brightly woven silk chador-shabs were part of the textiles made for a Zoroastrian bride. Elaborately woven in six strips joined across the back, the present lot is adorned with a range of geometric designs in various shapes with a large square in the centre. Surrounded by smaller squares, arranged in neat rows, with some holding a stepped diamond and others a conical tree with its trunk rooted in the ground. Other figurative elements include a row of men mounted on horses towards the upper register, and below them a line of black and white figures that may represent women. Scattered throughout are birds, in pairs or alone.

This chador-shab would have been worn by the bride as a shoulder-mantle or used to wrap her personal clothes. Jasleen Dhamija acquired this piece in 1974 from the daughter of a weaver who had had used it as part of her bridal trousseau.

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