Ruyī Qabā Inventory No. 3.112,
Located at the Textile Museum in Washington D.C.
Aquired by George Hewitt Myers in 1927
Early Date: 1600
Late Date: 1799
Materials: silk/metallic-wrapped silk/foil~silver
Structure/Technique: twill weave~weft substitution~paired wefts/stamped
Yarn: warp;silk;SLIGHT Z/UNTWISTED;;66/CM;orange
Yarn: ground weft;metallic-wrapped silk;S-WRAPPED;;37?CM;
Yarn: discontinuous supplementary weft;silk;UNTWISTED;;37/CM;multiple colors
Description:Brocaded taffeta stamped. Floral motif. 1Z3 twill weave with weft substitution, calendared and stamped. Robe with metal-ground textile, floral designs. Narrow-waisted coat with flared hips and long sleeves ending in pointed cuffs. Fabric is a very thin silk tissue with a simple repeat of a single floral motif. Generous amounts of interstitial space surround the motif, creating an open, airy design. The silvery foil wrapped around the foundation weft is bright and shiny. The coat is frogged across the breast and has eight buttons, covered with metallic threads. (gem/C.Bier, 1987)
Markings: This narrow-waisted coat with flared hips and long sleeves ending in pointed cuffs would have served a Safavid courtier as the outermost of several layers of clothing. Following John Chardin’s description, this can be identified as a Safavid cadabi [qabā is the correct translation]: “They put over the Robe a short, or close-bodied Coat and without Sleeves, which they call Courd, or a long one with sleeves, with they call a Cadabi, according to the Season. These close-bodied coats are cut like Robes, that is to say, they are wide at Bottom, and narrow at Top, like Bells; they are made of cloth, or Gold Brocade, or a thick Sattin.”
The fabric from which this coat is cut would probably fit into Chardin’s category of “Gold Brocade”. In this case, the fabric was probably imported from India and made up into the coat in Iran. A very thin silk tissue, it is structurally identical to cat. No. 52[TM3.95] and 53 [TM6.262] attributed to Mughal India.
All three of these textiles feature simple patterns based on the offset repeat of a single floral motif. Generous amounts of interstitial space surround the motifs creating an open, airy design. IN each of the fabrics, the woven textile has been calendared, and the silvery foil wrapped around the foundation weft is bright and shiny. The original colors of the coat are best preserved on the back of the garment where the ground fabric shows a rich yellowish-orange with silvery glints, and the flower is of a light purple and green outlined in dark blue. The coat is frogged across the breast and has eight buttons, covered with metallic threads. According to Chardin the buttons were “more for Ornament than Service, for they seldom button their close-bodied Coats.” (gem/C.Bier, 1987) This object is illustrated in the video “The Isfahan of Shah Abbas” (1987). Citation: Citation: Welch, Anthony, The Isfahan of Shah ‘Abbas. Fogg Fine Art Films. Harvard University. 1987. Dimensions:
Length: 40.98” / 104 cm neck to hem
Width: 62.06” / 157.5 cm cuff to cuff
Observations from Textile Museum Visit by Melinda Haren, Jennifer Davis, Rose Otter:
The qaba is constructed in the same fashion as the other ruyī qabā we observed at the museum. However, the one key difference is the trimming across the front of the qabā. The buttons were constructed in a similar fashion to Japanese Temari Balls. Gold foil, approximately 1/16” wide was used to create a basket weave pattern across the surface. A foundation was created by white floss (silk or linen) wrapped over a core, which appeared to be a wooden bead with a hole in the center, though it may have been cloth. The buttons were then attached to the end of the trim. Button loops were created with finger loop braiding and were also attached to the end of the trim. The trim was hand sewn with a fine, overcast stitch along all edges. The buttons were attached by splitting the trim in the center for about 1/2", the button is placed in the center and floss (the same floss used to form the foundation) is wrapped around the cut ends of the trim, passes through the bottom of the button and then is wrapped around the second half of the trim. Loops were simply placed under the edge of the trim with the trim sewn down over top to hold the loop in place.
