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Chamail (clothing)

The chamail is a type of poncho-like clothing from Central Asia.^[2]

As a result of Central-Asian influence, this type of clothing also appears in Indian works of art of the 1st millennium CE, as in AjantaorBagh.^[2] The chamail was probably introduced in India by the Sakas or the Kushans.^[2] The chamail also appears in Gandharan Buddhist sites such as Fondukistan and Bamiyan, and even as far as Xinjiang.^[2]InKashmir also, the chamail appears on the Buddha or Bodhisattavas during the 6-7th century CE.^[2]

Examples[edit]

• 
  Gandhara King devotee wearing the chamail, 3rd-4th century CE
• 
  A foreigner in Sasanian dress drinking wine, on the ceiling of the central hall of Cave 1, Ajanta, likely a generic scene from an object imported from Central Asia (460–480 CE).^[3][4]
• 
  Wearer of a chamail (right) in the Penjikent murals.^[2]
• 
  Servant wearing chamail dress, Penjikent

References[edit]

Sources[edit]

• Spink, Walter M. (2007). Ajanta: History and Development, Volume 5: Cave by Cave. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-15644-9.