DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1397#0071
PLATE 16.
INDIAN ARTICLES OF STATE AND PERSONAL USE.
HP HE principal portion of the background in this group is formed by a green worked muslin
-■- shawl from Dacca. The central semicircle is part of a gold and silver clmkur, or embroidered
table-cover, from Ahmedabad. The state umbrella, richly ornamented with gold bullion
embroidery, was from Umritsur. The small peacock-feather fan was contributed by the Bombay
committee; and the large silver-handled fan by Sir Jung Bahadoor, of Nepaul. The gold-
embroidered topee, or native state cap, was forwarded from Lucknow by the Nawab Shurfood
Dowlah. The wooden clog, inlaid with copper, was made at Bareilly; and the embroidered
leather riding-boot, worked at Khyrpoor, Sinde, belonged to H. H. Meer Ali Moorad.
Dacca, in Bengal, has long been celebrated for its embroideries, in muslin especially; and
Mr. Taylor, in his "Descriptive and Historical Account of the Cotton Manufacture of Dacca,"
says that "muslins, net fabrics, and woollen shawls and scarfs, are embroidered with silk, gold
and silver thread, and with the wings of the beetle." The manner of working is thus described
by him:—" The cloth (or net) is stretched out in a horizontal bamboo frame of' rude
construction, raised about two feet from the ground; and the figures intended to be worked or
embroidered are drawn upon it by designers, who are generally Hindu painters. On woollen
cloths the outlines are traced with chalk, and on muslin with pencil, and the copy of the design
is copied from coloured drawings. The embroiderers, seated upon the floor around the frame,
ply the needle, which, it may be remarked, they do not draw towards, but, on the contrary,
push from them, as is the case with all the native sewers in India. In place of scissors they
commonly use a piece of glass or chinaware to cut the threads. Like the darners, the embroiderers
are a distinct society, or Mahomedan guild of artisans. The different branches of needlework in
India," he adds, " are chiefly practised by men, and are carried on as distinct trades."
Ahmedabad, formerly the Mahomedan capital of the province of Quzerat, was celebrated for
its manufactures until it became subject to the Mahratta chiefs in the 18th century. It has,
however, regained somewhat of its ancient prosperity under British rule, and its embroideries show
that the Mahomedan hand has not yet lost its cunning.
The large state umbrella from Umritsur, with silver-plated stick, was a fine specimen of
Oriental magnificence. The umbrella or parasol, either of which terms means sun-shade, is a
classic appanage of royalty in the East. Mr. Layard, in his work on Nineveh, tells us that
" the parasol was generally carried over the king in time of peace, and sometimes in war. In
shape it resembled very closely those now in common use ; but it was always seen open in
the sculptures. It was edged with tassels, and was usually adorned at the top by a flower, or
some other ornament. On the later bas-reliefs, a long piece of embroidered linen or silk,
falling from one side like a curtain, appears to screen the king completely from the sun. The
parasol was reserved exclusively for the monarch, and is never represented as borne over any
other person."
This description, although referring to some 1,000 years before our era, applies very well
to our illustration. As a canopy of state, the use of the umbrella appears to have been general
in southern Europe from a very early period. It is found in the ceremonials of the Byzantine
Church; it was borne over the Host in processions ;* it formed part of the pontifical regalia;
and about A.D. 1179, when Pope Alexander III. took refuge in Venice from the Emperor
Frederick I., he bestowed on Sebastian Zani, the. doge, and his successors, the privilege of
placing the pontifical parasol over their armorial ensigns.
M. Biot, in a translation of the Tcheou-Si,t or Bites of Tcheou, shows that a canopy of
umbrella form was spread over the imperial car in the early part of the 12th century. The
staff supporting this covering consisted of two parts, the upper one being a rod three-tenths of
a Chinese foot in circumference, and the lower a tube six-tenths in circumference, into which the
upper half was capable of sliding.
The remaining subjects evince that love of and taste for decoration, as applied to objects of
personal use, which distinguish the Oriental from the European, and which, carried out on a royal
scale, give such a gorgeous richness to the courts of Oriental princes.
* A custom still adhered to in the Cathedral of Avignon.
t Le Tcheou-Si, ou Kits des Tcheou, traduit par feu Bdouard Biot. Paris, 1851.
INDIAN ARTICLES OF STATE AND PERSONAL USE.
HP HE principal portion of the background in this group is formed by a green worked muslin
-■- shawl from Dacca. The central semicircle is part of a gold and silver clmkur, or embroidered
table-cover, from Ahmedabad. The state umbrella, richly ornamented with gold bullion
embroidery, was from Umritsur. The small peacock-feather fan was contributed by the Bombay
committee; and the large silver-handled fan by Sir Jung Bahadoor, of Nepaul. The gold-
embroidered topee, or native state cap, was forwarded from Lucknow by the Nawab Shurfood
Dowlah. The wooden clog, inlaid with copper, was made at Bareilly; and the embroidered
leather riding-boot, worked at Khyrpoor, Sinde, belonged to H. H. Meer Ali Moorad.
Dacca, in Bengal, has long been celebrated for its embroideries, in muslin especially; and
Mr. Taylor, in his "Descriptive and Historical Account of the Cotton Manufacture of Dacca,"
says that "muslins, net fabrics, and woollen shawls and scarfs, are embroidered with silk, gold
and silver thread, and with the wings of the beetle." The manner of working is thus described
by him:—" The cloth (or net) is stretched out in a horizontal bamboo frame of' rude
construction, raised about two feet from the ground; and the figures intended to be worked or
embroidered are drawn upon it by designers, who are generally Hindu painters. On woollen
cloths the outlines are traced with chalk, and on muslin with pencil, and the copy of the design
is copied from coloured drawings. The embroiderers, seated upon the floor around the frame,
ply the needle, which, it may be remarked, they do not draw towards, but, on the contrary,
push from them, as is the case with all the native sewers in India. In place of scissors they
commonly use a piece of glass or chinaware to cut the threads. Like the darners, the embroiderers
are a distinct society, or Mahomedan guild of artisans. The different branches of needlework in
India," he adds, " are chiefly practised by men, and are carried on as distinct trades."
Ahmedabad, formerly the Mahomedan capital of the province of Quzerat, was celebrated for
its manufactures until it became subject to the Mahratta chiefs in the 18th century. It has,
however, regained somewhat of its ancient prosperity under British rule, and its embroideries show
that the Mahomedan hand has not yet lost its cunning.
The large state umbrella from Umritsur, with silver-plated stick, was a fine specimen of
Oriental magnificence. The umbrella or parasol, either of which terms means sun-shade, is a
classic appanage of royalty in the East. Mr. Layard, in his work on Nineveh, tells us that
" the parasol was generally carried over the king in time of peace, and sometimes in war. In
shape it resembled very closely those now in common use ; but it was always seen open in
the sculptures. It was edged with tassels, and was usually adorned at the top by a flower, or
some other ornament. On the later bas-reliefs, a long piece of embroidered linen or silk,
falling from one side like a curtain, appears to screen the king completely from the sun. The
parasol was reserved exclusively for the monarch, and is never represented as borne over any
other person."
This description, although referring to some 1,000 years before our era, applies very well
to our illustration. As a canopy of state, the use of the umbrella appears to have been general
in southern Europe from a very early period. It is found in the ceremonials of the Byzantine
Church; it was borne over the Host in processions ;* it formed part of the pontifical regalia;
and about A.D. 1179, when Pope Alexander III. took refuge in Venice from the Emperor
Frederick I., he bestowed on Sebastian Zani, the. doge, and his successors, the privilege of
placing the pontifical parasol over their armorial ensigns.
M. Biot, in a translation of the Tcheou-Si,t or Bites of Tcheou, shows that a canopy of
umbrella form was spread over the imperial car in the early part of the 12th century. The
staff supporting this covering consisted of two parts, the upper one being a rod three-tenths of
a Chinese foot in circumference, and the lower a tube six-tenths in circumference, into which the
upper half was capable of sliding.
The remaining subjects evince that love of and taste for decoration, as applied to objects of
personal use, which distinguish the Oriental from the European, and which, carried out on a royal
scale, give such a gorgeous richness to the courts of Oriental princes.
* A custom still adhered to in the Cathedral of Avignon.
t Le Tcheou-Si, ou Kits des Tcheou, traduit par feu Bdouard Biot. Paris, 1851.