Sari

Museum number:
9-12080
Permalink:
ark:/21549/hm21090012080
Alternate number:
351 (original number)
Accession number:
Acc.2963 and Acc.2964
Description:
Sari; Lahi (Gujerati) - sari; Parsi; Handwoven; Chinese silk gauze tie-dyed in curvilinear floral pattern; body of sari has pattern pink and white on black ground, borders are white on red; border of black Chinese gauze silk embroidered in cream-colored silk attached to lower edge and on approximately 3 yards of the upper edge; length 520 cm., width 114 cm. Made by Chinese and Indian artisans. Imported silk,indigenous dyes and techniques. Traditionally worn by Parsi widows and therefore considered highly inauspicious as a garment for single or married women. The colors, while there may be variation of the shade, are usually black and red and pink. The attachment of a superimposed border is optional. Although the silk is Chinese, these lahi saris (tie-dyed) were made in Gujerate for Parsi clients. This specimen belonged to the donor's grandmother, Mrs. Piroja Gimi.
Donor:
Gool H. Wadia and Shireenbai Kapadia
Collection place:
Mumbai (Bombay), Maharashtra State, India
Culture or time period:
Parsi
Collector:
Niloufer Hirschmann Ichaporia
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Saris (garments)
Function:
3.1 Status Objects and Insignia of Office
Accession date:
1972
Department:
Asia (except western Russia)
Images:
Hearst Museum object titled Sari, accession number 9-12080, described as Sari; Lahi (Gujerati) - sari; Parsi; Handwoven; Chinese silk gauze tie-dyed in curvilinear floral pattern; body of sari has pattern pink and white on black ground, borders are white on red; border of black Chinese gauze silk embroidered in cream-colored silk attached to lower edge and on approximately 3 yards of the upper edge; length 520 cm., width 114 cm. Made by Chinese and Indian artisans. Imported silk,indigenous dyes and techniques. Traditionally worn by Parsi widows and therefore considered highly inauspicious as a garment for single or married women. The colors, while there may be variation of the shade, are usually black and red and pink. The attachment of a superimposed border is optional. Although the silk is Chinese, these lahi saris (tie-dyed) were made in Gujerate for Parsi clients. This specimen belonged to the donor's grandmother, Mrs. Piroja Gimi.
Legacy documentation:
Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Sari, accession number 9-12080, described as Sari; Lahi (Gujerati) - sari; Parsi; Handwoven; Chinese silk gauze tie-dyed in curvilinear floral pattern; body of sari has pattern pink and white on black ground, borders are white on red; border of black Chinese gauze silk embroidered in cream-colored silk attached to lower edge and on approximately 3 yards of the upper edge; length 520 cm., width 114 cm. Made by Chinese and Indian artisans. Imported silk,indigenous dyes and techniques. Traditionally worn by Parsi widows and therefore considered highly inauspicious as a garment for single or married women. The colors, while there may be variation of the shade, are usually black and red and pink. The attachment of a superimposed border is optional. Although the silk is Chinese, these lahi saris (tie-dyed) were made in Gujerate for Parsi clients. This specimen belonged to the donor's grandmother, Mrs. Piroja Gimi.

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