Art Institute of Chicago

Length of Velvet

Bukhara, Uzbekistan

Date

1875/1900

Medium

Silk, twill weave with supplementary warp forming cut velvet; pile warp-dyed (ikat)

Culture

Uzbekistan

Department

Textiles

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

The tiger-stripe pattern of this velvet is not traditional to Uzbekistan. It may have been inspired by Russian or East Asian designs; in the late nineteenth century imported luxury goods from these regions influenced local design. The technique of dyeing the warp before weaving is called ikat. Creating a velvet in this manner requires a significant amount of planning and skill on the part of the silk thread dyers and the weavers. The production of silk velvet ikat was a specialty of the highly skilled weavers in Bukhara between the late 1860s and about 1910. The luxurious fabric was fashioned into women's robes as dowry items intended for special occasions such as weddings and funerals.

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