Dress Panel, Kuchi Tribe
Four leaf embroidery with beading
Produced from the Kuchi, or Kochi, Tribe of Afghanistan, this vibrant, heavily embroidered, and hand-crafted fragment would traditionally be seen sewn together onto the chest, neck, or sleeve of a dress. This group of Pashtun pastoral nomads migrated for centuries using these textile pieces, also referred to as a yakhan, for protection. Its geometric patterns and glass-beaded border are used to deflect evil spirits for the wearer.
-
The combination of embroidery beading and elaborate ornament is characteristic of Afghan textile and dress traditions particularly the highly embellished textiles associated with women's clothing in the broad Kuchi tradition communities.
This panel was probably originally made as a garment ornament bodice yoke or decorative panel sewn onto clothing rather than as a household textile. Small embroidered panels were incorporated into Afghan women's clothing and examples survive as separate pieces after being removed from garments.
Title: Dress Panel, Kuchi Tribe
Date: 2013
Geography: Southern/Eastern Afghanistan
Medium: Cotton, silk embroidery, glass beads
Dimensions: H. 9.5 in. W. 9.25 in.
Provenance: Purchased at Weekend Market in Bangkok, Thailand
Inventory Number: AF.03
