Persian embroidery
Encyclopedia
Persian embroidery is one of the many forms of the multi-faceted Persian arts.
The motifs used in the Persian embroidery are mostly floral, especial Persian
figures, animals, and patterns related to hunting.
The Persian embroidered women's trouserings have rich patterns. They were very much in vogue up till the end of the 18th century. With a survival of Victorian
modesty, these are usually known as "Gilets Persans". The designs are always of diagonal parallel bands filled with close floral ornamentation and are very effective.
existed from the ancient times and at least from the time of the Sassanids.
Numerous designs are visible on the dresses of the personages on the rock-sculptures and silverware
of that period, and have been classified by Professor Ernst Herzfeld
. Also the patterns on the coat of Chosroes II at Taq-e Bostan
are in such high relief that they may represent embroidery.
Roundels, confronted animals and other familiar motives of Sassanid art were doubtless employed. It is probable that the famous Garden Carpet of Chosroes II was a piece of embroidery.
-coverings or ceremonial cloth for present-trays, while in the eighteenth century and later we have the addition of rugs for the bathing-rooms, prayer-mats, and women's embroidered trousers, known as 'naghshe'.
The earlier pieces are almost all closely allied in design to one or other of the many types of carpets. They are worked chiefly in darning-stitch on cotton or loosely-woven linen, while occasionally examples in cross- or tent-stitch are met with.
It is perhaps reasonable to assume that the more important class of work, that of carpet-weaving, supplied the original design and that the embroiderer adopted it from a type familiar to her. Also it must be remembered that the carpet-weaving was mainly done by men, embroidery by women, so that members of the same family worked at both trades.
The motifs used in the Persian embroidery are mostly floral, especial Persian
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
figures, animals, and patterns related to hunting.
The Persian embroidered women's trouserings have rich patterns. They were very much in vogue up till the end of the 18th century. With a survival of Victorian
Victorian fashion
Victorian fashion comprises the various fashions and trends in British culture that emerged and grew in province throughout the Victorian era and the reign of Queen Victoria, a period which would last from June 1837 to January 1901. Covering nearly two thirds of the 19th century, the 63 year reign...
modesty, these are usually known as "Gilets Persans". The designs are always of diagonal parallel bands filled with close floral ornamentation and are very effective.
Sassanid era
We know that the Persian embroideryEmbroidery
Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
existed from the ancient times and at least from the time of the Sassanids.
Numerous designs are visible on the dresses of the personages on the rock-sculptures and silverware
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
of that period, and have been classified by Professor Ernst Herzfeld
Ernst Herzfeld
Ernst Emil Herzfeld was a German archaeologist and Iranologist.-Life:Herzfeld was born in Celle, Province of Hanover...
. Also the patterns on the coat of Chosroes II at Taq-e Bostan
Taq-e Bostan
Taqwasân or Taq-e Bostan or Taq-i-Bustan is a series of large rock relief from the era of Sassanid Empire of Persia, the Iranian dynasty which ruled western Asia from 226 to 650 AD. This example of Sassanid art is located 5 km from the city center of Kermanshah in western Iran...
are in such high relief that they may represent embroidery.
Roundels, confronted animals and other familiar motives of Sassanid art were doubtless employed. It is probable that the famous Garden Carpet of Chosroes II was a piece of embroidery.
Later
The Persian embroideries we possess of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries are almost exclusively divanDivan
A divan was a high governmental body in a number of Islamic states, or its chief official .-Etymology:...
-coverings or ceremonial cloth for present-trays, while in the eighteenth century and later we have the addition of rugs for the bathing-rooms, prayer-mats, and women's embroidered trousers, known as 'naghshe'.
Peculiarities
The earlier embroideries of Iran are almost all of a type in which the entire ground is covered by the design, while the reverse is true, in the main, of the later pieces, in which the background of one plain colour is made to play its part equally with the varied silks of the needlework.The earlier pieces are almost all closely allied in design to one or other of the many types of carpets. They are worked chiefly in darning-stitch on cotton or loosely-woven linen, while occasionally examples in cross- or tent-stitch are met with.
It is perhaps reasonable to assume that the more important class of work, that of carpet-weaving, supplied the original design and that the embroiderer adopted it from a type familiar to her. Also it must be remembered that the carpet-weaving was mainly done by men, embroidery by women, so that members of the same family worked at both trades.
Source
- Brief guide to Persian embroideries. Victoria and Albert MuseumVictoria and Albert MuseumThe Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
, His Majesty's stationery Office, London 1950.