New York, NY. By Appointment

Wedding Dress of a 12-Year Old

Heavily embroidered silk on cotton and mirror- work

Circa early to mid 20th Century

Pakistan

Length: 35¾″, 90.8 cm

Width: 22½″, 57.15 cm

This lavishly embroidered wedding dress is from the Sind area of southern Pakistan. When a daughter was born her mother and female relatives began to intricately heavily-stich the dress with thick silk embroidery. The dress is heavy with silk and mirror-work on cotton and has three-quarter length sleeves with a 12-inch slit at the neck. During the wedding ceremony the slit was worn in back. After the marriage was consummated the bride wore the slit at the front.