Close-up shoot of zardozi (zardouzi) embroideryVicereineLady Curzon's peacock dress, with a skirt made of Indian zardozi needlework featuring green beetle wings and gold and silver thread, was a sensation at her coronation, making the front page of the Chicago Tribune on 27 September 1903.
Zardozi, or zar-douziorzarduzi (from Classical Persian زَردوزی zardōzī, literally "gold embroidery"; Modern Persian: زَردوزی, romanized: zarduzi; Hindi: ज़रदोज़ी, Tajik: зардӯзӣ, Urdu: زردوزی, Uzbek: zardoʻzi), is an Iranian, Indian-subcontinent and Central Asian embroidery type. Zardozi comes from two Persian words: zarorzarin meaning 'gold', and dozi meaning 'sewing'.[1] Zardozi is a type of heavy and elaborate metal embroidery on a silk, satin, or velvet fabric base.[2] Zardozi embroidery uses a wide variety of gold and silver embellishments such as: flat metal wires, spangles, coiled wires, heavy wires, and twisted wires.[3] Designs are often created using gold and silver threads and can incorporate pearls, beads, and precious stones.[4] It is used as decoration for a wide range of applications, including clothes, household textiles, and animal trappings.[2] Historically, it was used to adorn the walls of royal tents, scabbards, wall hangings and the paraphernalia of regal elephants and horses.[5]
Initially, the embroidery was done with pure silver wires and real gold leaves. However, today, craftsmen make use of a combination of copper wire, with a golden or silver polish, and silk thread.
Some people completely sew the basic fabric with Bakhie (Persian: بخیه) in order to produce novel patterns and colors, such as the Baloch's Souzan-douzi (Persian: سوزندوزی), Rasht's Qollab-douzi (Persian: قلابدوزی) and Kerman's Pate-douzi (Persian: پَتهدوزی).
Some sew with less density of work on the original fabric. They cross the strings throughout the woof of the fabric and sew them to each other to form a colorfully patterned lattice, such as sekke-douzi (Persian: سکّهدوزی) or qollab-douzi (Persian: قلابدوزی) in Isfahan.
A third way is to sew a variety of patterns on the original fabric with gold and silver strings, such as Dah-Yek-Douzi (Persian: دهيکدوزی), Naqade-douzi (Persian: نقدهدوزی), Tafte-douzi (Persian: تافتهدوزی), Kous-douzi (Persian: خوسدوزی) Zari-douzi (Persian: زردوزی) or Golabatoun-douzi (Persian: گلابتوندوزی).[6]
As an embroidery, Zardozi was first used in the 14th century.[7] It prospered during the 17th century during the reign of the Mughal emperorAkbar, but later a loss of royal patronage and industrialization led to its decline. The craft began to experience a resurgence in popularity following India's independence in 1947.[1][5]
Zardozi is a popular embroidery choice across Pakistan especially for wedding or formal wear, with artisans and couture houses alike producing clothing with zardozi work
Media related to Zardozi at Wikimedia Commons
