Textiles and Attires: 19th-Early 20th Century Bombay Presidency

Many of the clay models in the Museum's collection were inspired by Company prints and ethnographic documentation. Seen here is a plate from Forbes Watson representing male attires in cotton.

This early 20th century clay model shows an artisan flattening gold wire. Flattened gold threads were traditionally used for weaving and embroideries.

All three Patola saris in the Museum's collection are devoid of animal and human figures, and were probably meant to be worn by women from the Muslim Vohra [Bohra] community. Patolas were, and still are, highly prized and patronized only by those who could afford them. They took tremendous patience and precision to make. While double-ikats were woven in Patan and Surat, patola ‘imitations’ were made in single-ikat in Rajkot and Saurashtra. While a limited selection of Patolas continue to be woven today, mostly by the Salvi Jain community, natural dyes are seldom used.

This patola sari features a 'pan-bhat' (pipal leaf) pattern also known as 'vohra-gaji-bhar', along with the caterpillar, lotus flower and stars.

This handspun and handwoven cotton blouse is from Dharwar in Karnataka which is widely known for its cotton sarees, often made in earthy colouts with contrasting borders in red and dark dorwn. Saris and their accompanying blouses were often decorated with kasuti embroidery. Shown here is the blouse/bodice embroidered in colours that contrast the base material. The designs are appliqued and embroidered.

This red cotton skirt , with a purple waistband, is embroidered with trellis design enclosing floral motifs in alternating rows. Each motif consists of an individual flower, the stem appearing as if rooted in the ground with a pair of leaves on either side. The outline of the ogival pattern in embroidered in white. There is a scrolling floral border.

Kinkhabs were generally used for skirt lengths and furnishings.

"The Parsis, when they first settled in Gujarat, adopted the dress of the Gujarati Hindus, the only difference being that their males and females both wore the sadra, kusti [girdle worn around the waist] and trousers and that the latter covered their head with a white cloth.The man here wears a behedi turban, usually donned by the Parsis of Mumbai. It is regarded that the earlier headdress of the Parsis was a heavy bundle made out of many yards of cloth wrapped around the head. The weight of the turban was considered a measure of the dignity and respectability of the wearer"

- Bombay City Gazetteer 1909

Kolis, are regarded as the original inhabitants of the islands of Mumbai (Bombay). Often the men wore rough wollen waistcoat, loin cloth folded diagonally strung around the waist and a warm close fitting cap, known as kamblichi topi. A cord with a sacred thread was put around the neck like a sacred thread. The woman ensemble comprises a nine yard saree and a choli (blouse). The sari is draped in a peculiar way attributed to the Koli community, where after being draped around the waist, one end of it is taken between legs to form a trouser like division. This style is believed to make it easier to swim in the water.

Agri Koli couple, who mainly worked in the salt pans. The man wears a three piece ensembles comprising of a head gear, an upper garment and an un-stiched lower garment. The upper garment is front open and has visual similarity to cotton garment worn under Sherwanis and Achkans by men at the turn of the century. The cotton textiles were mill made. Both imported and Indian fabrics were being used by population in Mumbai (Bombay). The woman wear a saree with a fill sleeved garment accompanied by a scarf wrapped around, covering the entire upper body.

Many attires developed around community, profession and caste during this period. seen here is a dhobi couple, or washerman/washerwoman. On the male model we see Angarkha style upper garment. He wears a dhoti where the central part of the drape is taken in between the legs and fastened around the groin area, a style similar to draping a langot. The length of the dhoti is shorter which was attributed to relatively lower castes of people comprising of working class. The woman wears a style of saree which belongs to the broad Western, Central and Northern regions of India.

A portrait of Dr. Bhau Daji Lad, one of the founders of the Museum and after whom the Museum is named, is portrayed wearing a Kashmiri shawl. Kashmir has always been recognized for its high quality Pashmina shawls bearing finely embroidered designs.

John Forbes Watson (1867) documents that, 'Turbans are to be found in India presenting every colour and hue in the rainbow but white naturally takes by far the most prominent position. Red comes next, then yellow, and after them green, blue, purple and occasionally even black; the darker colours being almost invariably relieved by embroidery'

This is a lilac coloured turban with a narrow red and gold border, worked in a simple plain weave.

This turban piece from Gujarat has an elaborate lehariya (striped) pattern block printed with alternating rows of single flowered creeper in bands of purple, yellow and mustard colour.