Zardozi

Close-up shoot of zardozi (zardouzi) embroidery
Vicereine Lady Curzon's peacock dress, with a skirt made of Indian zardozi needlework featuring green beetle wings and gold and silver thread, was a sensation at her coronation, making the front page of the Chicago Tribune on 27 September 1903.

Zardozi, or zar-douzi or zarduzi (from Classical Persian زَردوزی zardōzī, literally "gold embroidery"; Modern Persian: زَردوزی, romanized: zarduzi; Hindi: ज़रदोज़ी, Tajik: зардӯзӣ, Urdu: زردوزی, Uzbek: zardoʻzi), is an Iranian, Indian-subcontinent and Central Asian embroidery type. Zardozi comes from two Persian words: zar or zarin meaning 'gold', and dozi meaning 'sewing'.[1] Zardozi is a type of heavy and elaborate metal embroidery on a silk, satin, or velvet fabric base.[2] Zardozi embroidery uses a wide variety of gold and silver embellishments such as: flat metal wires, spangles, coiled wires, heavy wires, and twisted wires.[3] Designs are often created using gold and silver threads and can incorporate pearls, beads, and precious stones.[4] It is used as decoration for a wide range of applications, including clothes, household textiles, and animal trappings.[2] Historically, it was used to adorn the walls of royal tents, scabbards, wall hangings and the paraphernalia of regal elephants and horses.[5]

Initially, the embroidery was done with pure silver wires and real gold leaves. However, today, craftsmen make use of a combination of copper wire, with a golden or silver polish, and silk thread.

  1. ^ Pathak, Nilima (18 July 2018). "Zardozi workers struggle to make ends meet". Gulf News. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  2. ^ a b Naik, Shailaja D. (1996). Traditional embroideries of India. A.P.H. Pub. Corp. p. 144. ISBN 8170247314.
  3. ^ Raheja, Radhana; Bhagat, Simmi (19 December 2022). "HISTORIC INDIAN TEXTILES OF GOLD AND SILVER". ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts. 3 (2). doi:10.29121/shodhkosh.v3.i2.2022.149. ISSN 2582-7472.
  4. ^ "Indian Zari Embroidery". TRC Needles. Textile Research Center. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  5. ^ Bhattacharyya, Ranadeep (1 August 2017). "Silver and Gold- Story of Zardozi". Heritage India Magazine. Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2019.