Object Details
Donor Name
Jennie Kappenman
Notes
Embroidered mobile phone/cellphone bag, sold by Itokri Enterprises, in the Kachchh region of Gujarat. Flat, rectangular woven purple cotton pouch with a magnetic steel snap under front flap and a steel zippered closer at back of pouch. The strap is of braided embroidery cotton. The front flap on the pouch is decorated in a geometric soof stitch pattern with orange, green, blue and beige embroidery cotton. The edge of the front flap is decorated with small translucent yellow glass beads in a looped pattern with cotton tassels stitched to the edge of each of the loops. Three cotton tassels are attached to two, short, translucent bead strands sewn into the two bottom corners of the bag. The tassels range in color from orange, dark green white, red, blue, yellow, light green, gold, and pink. A single geometric soof stitch geometric element is embroidered into the center back of the pouch in blue and gold embroidery cotton. From the Itokri Enterprises website: "Soof Embroidery is probably the best kind of art amongst Gujarat's long-standing tradition of embroidery of distinct styles, and is characterized by vibrant colors and mirror work. Soof, meaning 'neat and clean'. The surface satin stitch is worked from the back of the fabric by counting the weave of the fabric and inserting the needle of regular and designed intervals. The designs for Soof embroidery cannot be pre drawn and are left to the discretion of the individual craftswomen, who need a good grasp of a geometry to work out their designs." [https://www.itokri.com/products/2019-520-2-49-soof-stitch-embroidery-pure-handloom-cotton-sling-mobile-pouch]
Record Last Modified
14 Feb 2023
Specimen Count
1
Accession Number
2090185
USNM Number
E437513-0
Object Type
Bag
Length
19.6 cm
Width
13 cm
Place
Kutch (Kachchh), Gujarat, India, Asia
See more items in
Anthropology
Data Source
NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
Topic
Ethnology
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmnhanthropology_16792268