Origins

Often called shisheh, mirror embroidery is believed by many to have come from Persia, modern-day Iran. This narrative is so pervasive that even a prominent designer in India known for her mirror-embroidered saris stated that the style came from Persia as if it were fact. [4] However, while there is plenty of evidence of the influence of Persian embroidery motifs on Indian embroidered textiles, there is no solid evidence that mirror embroidery has its origins there. [5] In fact, Persian sources do not claim they invented mirror embroidery, but many Indian sources attribute the style to Persia, nonetheless.

Embroidery in India flourished under the Mughal ruler, Akhbar, a devout Muslim who held a strong philosophy of encouraging plurality. [6] Due to his open approach to difference, Akhbar’s empire flourished as he expanded international trading and opened new ports. Akhbar highly valued the arts, and this ideology extended to textiles from around the world. His fondness for textiles is highlighted in the Ain-i-Akhbar: “His majesty himself acquired in a short time a theoretical and practical knowledge of the whole [textile] trade…A taste for fine material has since become general [in his court].” [7] He understood the textile trade from an economic perspective and he also took great pleasure in dressing, owning an abundance of local and foreign-made clothing. [8] His court was influenced by his love of textiles and shared his passion for the craft. By opening new ports, Akhbar’s India traded with Persia, China, and Europe. [9] Trading textiles left its mark on Indian embroidery, with Persian influence being clearly present in embroidery motifs. 

Originally reserved for ritual wall hangings in temples,  mirror embroidery originated with Kathi embroiderers, who then passed the style down to Mochi embroiderers. [10, 11] Mochi embroiderers (Mochi meaning cobbler in Hindi) developed their style of embroidery on leather goods. Firstly, on leather shoes, then leather gloves, and eventually creeping onto clothing. [12] Mochi needleworkers are thought to have been brought to India from Persia. One narrative is that when the Kathis hired Mochi embroiderers from Persia, they brought the technique of mirror embroidery with them, which then flourished in India. [13] Mochi embroiderers were brought by the Kathis to work in Akhbar’s court where he had an entire workshop, a kharkhana, solely for embroidery. [14]

However, Kathi embroiderers from Kutch, a region in India, are the embroiderers most discussed in the early history of mirror embroidery. The embroidery from Kutch in Gujarat is considered by many to be the best in the world. [15] Kathi embroideries are described as, “Hand drawn upon cotton cloth, and freely worked with floss silk, hir, adding discs of mirrored glass to emphasise features such as the centres of flowers or the eyes of animals and birds.” [16] Meanwhile, Mochi embroiderers developed the style further by introducing figural work, which remains popular today. Although there are no extant mirror embroidered textiles from the earliest Kathi works, there is a belief that they invented the technique and used these reflective discs of glass, which capture winks of sunlight in ritual textiles for sun worship. [17]

Akhbar’s golden age of textile trade and production ended with the ushering in of the Aurangzeb Period. [18] Embroidery became less valued, and these highly skilled embroiderers moved away from established Mughal textile centres and into more rural areas. Today, there are many villages that specialize in mirror embroidery. The motifs they work are less rigid and are often done with synthetic materials or blends. [19]

Functionality and Belief Systems

Both Persia and India have rich traditions of attaching reflective decorations, like coins or sequins, onto textiles. While on the surface, ornamentation is only added to enhance the textile’s beauty, these additions often have different functions and beliefs surrounding them.  Many believe that amuletic ornaments that repel the evil eye are a crucial aspect of adornment. The evil eye, a gaze from an evil spirit or from a jealous living person, is considered seriously harmful to the recipient of the gaze in many cultures. There are countless amulets to ward against the evil eye, and many of them are reflective. As discussed in Islamic Textiles by Patricia Baker:

Many types of applied decorations are no more than that–pretty things to add colour and pattern–but some types were chosen and added to fulfill a specific important function…Amulets and charms were commonly used to ensure protection, with the intention of attracting the very first glance, which would then deflect any evil that might otherwise harm the wearer. Shiny surfaces were thought to be particularly effective at distracting the evil spirits. Even one small bead or reflective plaque was better than none. [20]

A mirrored tradition exists in India and Pakistan pertaining to reflective ornaments under the umbrella term, zardozi. The word zardozi literally means ‘gold embroidery’ but includes any shiny decorative element on textile. [21] This includes metalwork embroidery, iridescent beetle wings, and mirror embroidery. Like the Persian folk belief, many Indian and Pakistani mirror embroiderers, and those who wear their work, believe that these discs of mirrored glass can repel the evil eye. [22] Though the physical record of mirror embroidery as we know it goes back one hundred years, its use in India is believed to date back to at least the sixteenth century. [23] Mirror embroidery predates the division of India and Pakistan. Women who specialize in this craft, living in a village of fellow mirror embroiderers in Sanghar Sindh, Pakistan, cite repelling the evil eye as a major reason to wear, and work, this style of embroidery. [24] Due to its perceived protection from the evil eye, these embroiderers claim that mirror embroidery protects the wearer’s beauty, charm, happiness, fertility, pride, youth, tradition, and “solar vitality.” [25]

Not all embroiderers agree with this superstitious attitude towards mirror embroidery, instead favouring a more officially religious belief system. [26] One religious Muslim embroiderer stated that belief in the amuletic properties of mirror embroidery was nonsense but continued to praise mirror embroidery for its beauty alone. [27] Religion and folk beliefs often clash when it comes to practical magic such as folk amulets. Nonetheless, cherished folk practices are often met with leniencies when they do not fit perfectly into a dominant religion’s belief system. Mirror embroidery need not be shunned by those who reject its amuletic properties, since such textiles can still be appreciated solely for their aesthetic value.

Conclusion

Mirror embroidery’s exact origins remain unknown. The lack of early extant mirror embroidered textiles has turned its origin story into a myth, with possible beginnings in Kathi sun worship and Persian workshops. However, India’s reputation for creating some of the finest embroidery in the world is solidified through this style. It stands apart. Not only is it brilliant, it is also considered by many to be particularly effective in repelling the evil eye. Mirror embroidery is still in popular use in India and remains a popular export, but its depth is greater than its captivating surface. Abhla Barat shows us what any item from fashion history can: how one minute detail can evidence entire empires, religions, and of course, people.