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Man's court sash (patka)
Indian (Deccan)
Mughal dynasty
18th century
Medium/Technique
Cotton and silk plain-weave with silk and gold- and silver- wrapped thread discontinuous supplementary patterning wefts, applied beetles' wings
Dimensions
Legacy dimension: 3.62 x 0.60
Credit Line
Denman Waldo Ross Collection
Accession Number24.433
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia, Fashion and Textiles
ClassificationsCostumes
DescriptionMan's court sash (patka) of silk and cotton plain weave with broad border at each crosswise end, and narrow borders on the sides, embroidered with thin strips of silver covered with gold leaf, silver ungilded, and pieces of blue and green iridescent beetles' wings; border design consists of delicate cone-shaped floral motifs (boteh) and undulating vines, on a gold ground.
An important element of male courtly attire in sixteenth-, seventeenth-, and eighteenth-century India, the patka or girdle played a symbolic and decorative role comparable to the necktie today. Often the most lavishly decorated component of a man's formal dress, the patka tied at the waist with the ends hanging toward the knees. The length of the ends and the position of the knot changed according to the fashions of the times. The ends of the patka, known as the pallakas, tend to be more elaborately and sumptuously ornamented than the central area, with lavish embroidery and metal thread. Because rulers often granted patkas as token of esteem, the sashes became symbols of political status as well as emblems of wealth and good taste.
An important element of male courtly attire in sixteenth-, seventeenth-, and eighteenth-century India, the patka or girdle played a symbolic and decorative role comparable to the necktie today. Often the most lavishly decorated component of a man's formal dress, the patka tied at the waist with the ends hanging toward the knees. The length of the ends and the position of the knot changed according to the fashions of the times. The ends of the patka, known as the pallakas, tend to be more elaborately and sumptuously ornamented than the central area, with lavish embroidery and metal thread. Because rulers often granted patkas as token of esteem, the sashes became symbols of political status as well as emblems of wealth and good taste.
Provenance1924, gift of Denman Waldo Ross (b. 1853 - d. 1935), Cambridge, MA, to the MFA. (Accession Date: November 6, 1924)