1983.001.1993

Woman's Munisak Robe
Uzbekistan, possibly from Bukhara, ca.1860s
Warp-faced plain weave silk warp and cotton weft ikat (adras, ishtope, or dagir) resist-dyeing technique.
Rare indigo dyed ikat with grayish-white (ground color) and yellow abstracted floral motifs and pink dashes.
Underarm gussets in orange/pink and purple/orange adras ikat. Pink, purple and yellow embroidery above side
slits. Padded and quilted vertically. Lined in several Russian cotton printed fabrics with stripes as well as floral
and boteh (paisley) motifs. Indigo ikat robes were worn by women of all ages for funerals and, most importantly, they
served to cover a woman's bier (1). As the corpse was carried out of the house, the deceased's relatives would turn
their own robes inside out, and, on the day of the burial, they would wear dark blue or black mourning robes (2).
The importance of these burial customs insured the longevity of indigo mourning robes in Central Asia.
Kent State University Museum
Silverman/Rodgers Collection
KSUM 1983.001.1993

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(1) Johannes Kalter, ed., Uzbekistan: Heirs to the Silk Road (Thames and Hudson, 1997), 226.
(2) Kate Fitz Gibbon, "Ikat: Costume in Central Asia," Ornament 21, (Fall/ Summer 1997-1998): 59.