Religious undershirt; woman’s; white; sleeveless with thing shoulder straps; upper part of dotted Swiss cotton, lower of net with broad band of lace around bottom; worn by all Parsis, traditionally, after the initiation as a symbol of Zoroastrianism. This specimen is an example of the sadra conforming to prevalent fashion; it lacks the most important requirement, a small pocket at the neckline, and met with great disapproval from the donor’s mother in the 1920s.
Donor:
Dinoo Dubash
Collection place:
Mumbai (Bombay), Maharashtra State, India
Culture or time period:
Parsi
Collector:
Niloufer Hirschmann Ichaporia
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Undershirts
Function:
5.1 Religion and Divination: Objects and garb associated with practices reflecting submission, devotion, obedience, and service to supernatural agencies