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| Figure 1.11 - Gillow, J.,(2000) Satin embroidered smock from Afghanistan |
Embroidery is the art of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Between the 14th and 18th century, embroidery in the Islamic world was
a popular form of art. This is because it was an inexpensive method to
apply decoration to cloth that could imitate expensive textile designs,
explained by Caroline Stone in her article titled "The skill of the two hands"
(2007). Embroidery was done mostly by women and was a great pass time
that allowed creative expression in a time when women were not
encouraged to attract attention. Adorning embroidered garments was a
sign of high social status among Muslim society.
One of the useful things about embroidery is that it was portable (Muscato, C.,2019), which made it easy for nomadic people - which made up a large portion of the Islamic society - to store and sell. It is through nomadic traders that the art was learnt and in the same way, spread throughout the world. Over time other Muslim societies adopted this form of art and applied their own designs and materials to it. The designs used in the embroidery mostly follow the rules of aniconism in Islam, so there is a lot of arabesque and geometric patterns seen (Stone, C.,2007).
Materials used to create embroidery were most commonly linen (see figure 1.11) and cotton but in other places, wool and silk were preferred. Some of the more expensive pieces incorporated gold and silver thread. In addition to thread, beads that were either wooden, glass, pearls or precious stones were incorporated into the embroidery (Muscato, C.,2019).
One of the useful things about embroidery is that it was portable (Muscato, C.,2019), which made it easy for nomadic people - which made up a large portion of the Islamic society - to store and sell. It is through nomadic traders that the art was learnt and in the same way, spread throughout the world. Over time other Muslim societies adopted this form of art and applied their own designs and materials to it. The designs used in the embroidery mostly follow the rules of aniconism in Islam, so there is a lot of arabesque and geometric patterns seen (Stone, C.,2007).
Materials used to create embroidery were most commonly linen (see figure 1.11) and cotton but in other places, wool and silk were preferred. Some of the more expensive pieces incorporated gold and silver thread. In addition to thread, beads that were either wooden, glass, pearls or precious stones were incorporated into the embroidery (Muscato, C.,2019).
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