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Shisha Embroidery Workshop
Shisha Embroidery Workshop
FoW and student members
Shisha Embroidery Workshop
Shisha Embroidery Workshop
FoW and student members
The following review was written by 1st year Art History students at Manchester University who attended the workshop.
Mirrors in Miniature – A Textile Workshop
On 7 November, five History of Art students from Manchester University attended Shisha embroidery workshops hosted by the Friends of the Whitworth. The workshop proved challenging but rewarding, and we left with a great appreciation for the art of embroidery.
Shisha embroidery, also commonly known as mirror work, is a traditional textile embroidery technique originating from India, particularly the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan, around the seventeenth century. The stitch incorporates small mirrors or metallic discs, with a reflective quality, which are then are sewn onto the fabric. The mirrors are often arranged decoratively into geometric or floral designs. These embellishments are a prominent feature of certain traditional Indian clothing, as well as of home decor, such as wall hangings, and of ornamental textiles worn by animals. The technique has a decorative and symbolic function, with the mirror believed to ward off evil spirits through its reflective properties. It is used in festive and celebratory attire, such as for weddings.
Isabel Dibden-Wright, our tutor, began the workshop showing us the textiles. The textiles were all relatively small, perhaps the size of large handkerchiefs, and, at first glance, seem relatively simple pieces of cloth. However, the detail of their embroidery should not be underestimated, as they demonstrate incredible technical skills. The stitches of Shisha are tiny and tight, practically machine-like, and it was only due to slight imperfections that we could see they were totally the work of the hand. One of the pieces, an animal coat, appeared to have been ripped and resewn judging from the underside – yet on the front it was hardly obvious and only the slight change in tone of the new fabric revealed the repair. The preciousness of the textile was clear – the fact that the creator didn't discard the ripped textile and replace it with a new one, but instead took their time to carefully re-sew the textile shows the value, time and dedication that was put into it.
Despite the small size and uniformity of the stich, Shisha embroidery was deceptively hard to master. Thankfully, with Isabel’s supportive teaching, we were able to each create a few samples that somewhat resembled the embroidery style. We were given a demonstration led by Isabel to get us started, with worksheets also guiding us, with step-by-step instructions if we got stuck. Isabel was an excellent teacher and was kind and patient with us. Although, it took us one or two attempts to get going, by our final tries we each created something that we were proud of. Admiring our beginner efforts next to the textile examples, we each gained a new appreciation for the level of time, concentration and sheer skill needed to complete a single piece.
As art history students, we easily appreciate paintings – admiring each careful brush stroke as the elements of beautiful artworks. Famous works of painters and sculptors alike are celebrated by art historians for their technical skills. Yet, neglected domestic mediums like embroidery are frequently underappreciated and ignored. The technique of embroidery has largely been recognised as a purely decorative craft, but is often forgotten as an art form, and as an expression of femininity, as a skill typically associated with and practised by women. Through our time in the workshop, we were able to learn about this technique that has been performed by women in India, and other regions in South Asia, since it originated. It was interesting to learn about their cultures and the way they have used an art form, like embroidery, to create pieces little known or acknowledged in the Western world for a long time.
Sitting in the workshop room in the Whitworth, with women of different ages and backgrounds, chatting and talking together, we reflected on how the typically feminine medium of embroidery had the ability to bring us all together, creating art and reclaiming embroidery as empowering.
Anisa Rizvi, Leni Cadle, and Millie-Kit Lawton
First-year History of Art Students
November 2024
Co-published with Dispatches in Art History, the blog for Manchester’s art history students.
The following review was written by 1st year Art History students at Manchester University who attended the workshop.
Mirrors in Miniature – A Textile Workshop
On 7 November, five History of Art students from Manchester University attended Shisha embroidery workshops hosted by the Friends of the Whitworth. The workshop proved challenging but rewarding, and we left with a great appreciation for the art of embroidery.
Shisha embroidery, also commonly known as mirror work, is a traditional textile embroidery technique originating from India, particularly the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan, around the seventeenth century. The stitch incorporates small mirrors or metallic discs, with a reflective quality, which are then are sewn onto the fabric. The mirrors are often arranged decoratively into geometric or floral designs. These embellishments are a prominent feature of certain traditional Indian clothing, as well as of home decor, such as wall hangings, and of ornamental textiles worn by animals. The technique has a decorative and symbolic function, with the mirror believed to ward off evil spirits through its reflective properties. It is used in festive and celebratory attire, such as for weddings.
Isabel Dibden-Wright, our tutor, began the workshop showing us the textiles. The textiles were all relatively small, perhaps the size of large handkerchiefs, and, at first glance, seem relatively simple pieces of cloth. However, the detail of their embroidery should not be underestimated, as they demonstrate incredible technical skills. The stitches of Shisha are tiny and tight, practically machine-like, and it was only due to slight imperfections that we could see they were totally the work of the hand. One of the pieces, an animal coat, appeared to have been ripped and resewn judging from the underside – yet on the front it was hardly obvious and only the slight change in tone of the new fabric revealed the repair. The preciousness of the textile was clear – the fact that the creator didn't discard the ripped textile and replace it with a new one, but instead took their time to carefully re-sew the textile shows the value, time and dedication that was put into it.
Despite the small size and uniformity of the stich, Shisha embroidery was deceptively hard to master. Thankfully, with Isabel’s supportive teaching, we were able to each create a few samples that somewhat resembled the embroidery style. We were given a demonstration led by Isabel to get us started, with worksheets also guiding us, with step-by-step instructions if we got stuck. Isabel was an excellent teacher and was kind and patient with us. Although, it took us one or two attempts to get going, by our final tries we each created something that we were proud of. Admiring our beginner efforts next to the textile examples, we each gained a new appreciation for the level of time, concentration and sheer skill needed to complete a single piece.
As art history students, we easily appreciate paintings – admiring each careful brush stroke as the elements of beautiful artworks. Famous works of painters and sculptors alike are celebrated by art historians for their technical skills. Yet, neglected domestic mediums like embroidery are frequently underappreciated and ignored. The technique of embroidery has largely been recognised as a purely decorative craft, but is often forgotten as an art form, and as an expression of femininity, as a skill typically associated with and practised by women. Through our time in the workshop, we were able to learn about this technique that has been performed by women in India, and other regions in South Asia, since it originated. It was interesting to learn about their cultures and the way they have used an art form, like embroidery, to create pieces little known or acknowledged in the Western world for a long time.
Sitting in the workshop room in the Whitworth, with women of different ages and backgrounds, chatting and talking together, we reflected on how the typically feminine medium of embroidery had the ability to bring us all together, creating art and reclaiming embroidery as empowering.
Anisa Rizvi, Leni Cadle, and Millie-Kit Lawton
First-year History of Art Students
November 2024
Co-published with Dispatches in Art History, the blog for Manchester’s art history students.
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