Fashionable Adaptation and Commercial Consumption of Indian Gold Embroidery and the Implicated Imperial Politics (c.1850‒1910)

Abstract

In the nineteenth century the consumption of exquisite Indian textiles occurred either through trade, colonial acquisitions, or exchanges. While the shawls of Kashmir and embroidered textiles from Gujarat have already been extensively researched, the production of gold (zari) embroidery from North India in the colonial era and their consumption by the British has largely escaped scholarly attention. Each of the period garments which will be discussed has been worn by individuals of the period, and this necessitates investigation into the history of consumption of these fashionable garments. From the seventeenth century onwards as more and more British arrived with their wives and children in India, there was a formation of a new social group—that of the imperialists. Until the mid-nineteenth century it was not uncommon for Oriental appearances to be sported on social occasions as an amplified way of celebrating the conquest of the lands up to the Far East. However, the mutiny of 1857 in India had strained British-India relations, resulting in reduced tolerance of the British (in India) towards Indians and further reinforced their attitudes of maintaining class distinctions. Towards the end of the century there was a strict regulation in their sartorial preferences which was exercised by limiting their contact with locally made clothing. A flimsy, outlandish display of indigenous costumes was no longer entertained; rather, a traditional British dress code was observed at all formal and informal occasions. Ironically, British women in India at the time served as carriers of an Anglo-Indian trend in clothing, and women in England were all the more enthusiastic about incorporating Indian ornamental effects in their dressing. Enquiry into the historical circumstances of the period presents an intriguing dichotomy of opinions on the fashion trends that loomed in the colonial scenario.