Shisheh or abhla bharat

embroidery Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on c ...

(

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

شيشه, ''abhala bharat'';

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

: आभला भरत, ''abhla bharat'';

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

: આભલા ભરત), or mirror-work, is a type of embroidery which attaches small pieces of

mirror A mirror or looking glass is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the ...

s or reflective metal to fabric. Mirror embroidery is common throughout Asia, and today can be found in the traditional embroidery of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

History

Shisha embroidery originated in the 17th century in India. People in lower classes mimicked the jeweled garments of the wealthy by decorating fabric with silver beetles' wings and chips of

mica Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into extremely thin elastic plates. This characteristic is described as perfect basal cleavage. Mica is ...

. When a process for manufacturing tiny mirror discs was developed during the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

, these tiny mirrors or ''shisha'' were swiftly adopted for fabric embellishment. Contemporary shisha work typically makes use of mass-produced, machine-cut glass shisha with a

silvered Silvering is the chemical process of coating a non-conductive substrate such as glass with a reflective substance, to produce a mirror. While the metal is often silver, the term is used for the application of any reflective metal. Process Mos ...

backing. Today most craft stores in the

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

carry small mirrors purchasable for use in embroidery, which come in varying shapes and sizes.

Regional variations

Shisha embroidery is most common across southwestern Asia and on the

. This type of embroidery lends a sparkling appearance to the brightly colored clothes worn in the region, and is very popular for use on clothing, hangings, tapestries, and domestic textiles.

Afghanistan

Both men and women adopted shisha embroidery from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Using silk or cotton thread and cotton, sheepskin, or leather fabrics, they decorate clothing, prayer mats, saddles, and cloths for wrapping the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

with abstract and geometric motifs such as vines, diamonds, stars, arches, and domes. Mirrors are surrounded by areas of heavy embroidery, particularly in the

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...

region. Embroidery for export is often done by

machine A machine is a physical system using Power (physics), power to apply Force, forces and control Motion, movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to na ...

, rather than by hand.

Baluchistan

Shisha embroidery in

Baluchistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

, influenced by Islamic traditions, is almost purely geometric, using cotton thread on heavy cotton fabric. Traditionally, it made use of naturals dyes, resulting in muted color schemes. Shisha decorates both everyday and holiday clothing. Government training centers educate embroiders in shisha embroidery methods to preserve the traditional craft. Modern embroidery in the region is primarily created for tourists and export, making use of untraditional bright colors.

Sindh

Sisha work in

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

is one of the most complex regional styles, showing influences from both its

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

and Muslim neighboring states. In Sindh, cotton fabric is resist-dyed or block-printed before being embroidered. The shisha mirrors are attached and surrounded by filling and ladder stitches, as well as counted cross stitch. Popular motifs include trefoil, peacock, lotus, flowers, paisley, and delicate geometric patterns. Motifs and colors in the north are similar to those of Afghanistan and Baluchistan, while the motifs and colors in the south show a Gujarati influence. Shisha embroidery is used on many wedding garments, such as the ''guj'', a tunic worn by the bride, and the ''bokhani'', a scarf worn by the groom.

Gujarat

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

shisha work typically depicts traditional themes of tragic love stories, battles, heroes, and kings. Shisha embroidery adorns clothings and wall hangings. Embroiderers in Kuch and

Kathiawar Kathiawar () is a peninsula, near the far north of India's west coast, of about bordering the Arabian Sea. It is bounded by the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest and by the Gulf of Khambhat (Gulf of Cambay) in the east. In the northeast, it is ...

are particularly renowned for their shisha embroidery. Kuchi embroidery is distinguished by the predominance of the chain stitch in curved or circular designs. In contrast, shisha embroidery in Kathiawar uses long satin stitches in square or triangular motifs.

Central Indian nomads

Some researchers believe that the tribes of nomads who inhabit Central India originated the practice of attaching mirrors, beads, and shells to fabric with stitches, and that these nomadic tribes spread the practice to other regions. Shisha embroidery in these tribes is unusual in that the fabric is almost entirely covered by mirrors and their stitched frames, with little or no decorative embroidery between. The

Banjara The Banjara (also known as ,Vanzara,Lambadi,Gour Rajput,Labana) are a historically nomadic trading caste who may have origins in the Mewar region of what is now Rajasthan. Etymology The Banjaras usually refer to themselves as ''Gor'' and outs ...

and

Rabari The Rabari people (also known as Desai, Rabari, Raika, and Dewasi people) are an ethnic group from the Rajasthan also found in Gujarat Kutch region. Origin Myth The Rabari myth of origin is kshatriya that Shiva put them on earth to tend to the ...

are known for their shisha work.

References

{{Clothing in South Asia Embroidery Needlework Indian clothing Pakistani embroidery Embroidery in India