Early 20th Century Shisha Embroidery Abhala Bharat (Mirror Work) Shoulder Bag

Description

Superb Early 20
th
Century Central Asian Shisha
Embroidery
(Abhala Bharat, Mirror Work) Shoulder Bag – Featuring Traditional Mica Mirrors
Details.
A superb central Asian, probably of Gujarat origin, shoulder, or bandolier bag heavily embellished with shisha as well as other embroidery on a black cotton backing.
Shisha may sometimes be referred to as “mirror work”.
The shisha mirrors used are made of mica, which suggests this is an older textile as mica mirrors were replaced by machine cut glass mirror in the mid-to-late 20
th
century.
Each mirror is affixed to the backing using a button stitch which is both difficult and time-consuming.
The textile in this listing at one time featured more than 400 mica mirrors – remarkable!
The interior of the bag is unadorned and includes a small pocket on one side.
Noted condition issues
; 40 of the 400 mica mirrors are missing; a 1 in. x ½ in. area of damaged embroidery below the central square section on one side; one of the two parts of a snap originally used to close the bag is missing; a number of areas where stitching is broken or pulled primarily along the shoulder strap.
Size.
11 in. x 12 in. (the rectangular bag section);
28 in. in length from the middle of the strap to the bottom of the rectangular section when hung from the shoulders.
All items in this auction are legal to buy/sell under U.S. statute covering cultural patrimony per United States Code 2600, CHAPTER 14 -- CONVENTION ON CULTURAL PROPERTY, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
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