Womens Kushuthara kira (dress) from Bhutan
Object No. 2002/147/4
The kira is the traditional garment of Bhutanese women, and is worn wrapped around the body and pinned on each shoulder with a koma (brooch). A wide woven belt (kera) secures the kira at the waist. There are several different varieties of kira, the kushuthara type being the most highly regarded as it was traditionally worn only by royalty and on special occasions. The kushuthara kira was lavishly decorated with brocade-work, finely executed on a white background, with a high proportion of silk thread. The kushuthara is originally from Kurto in the Lhuntshi District, high in the hills of north central Bhutan, an area renowned for its weaving and the original home of the Bhutanese royal family. Both royalty and nobility once retained the services of expert weavers to produce the special fabrics they required. Historically, the Bhutanese people were extremely strict about what type of garment could by worn by whom. The length of a garment, its design and patterning, the colour and type of fibre and the accessories worn with it, all denoted the social and economic status of the wearer. Although dress codes in present day Bhutan are no longer quite so strict, traditional dress is still worn by both men and women in public and it is still possible to tell the class and occupation of the wearer. This kira is of late 20th century manufacture and was probably made at about the time it was purchased. As the old, strict ways of dress broke down at the turn of the century, the kushuthara style of dress became popular and was adopted and copied by ordinary women, although very often in a simpler form in order to save weaving time. Today, the kushuthara can be worn by women other than royalty, for instance by girls in dance troupes. Christina Sumner Curator 2002
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Summary
Object Statement
Kushuthara kira (dress), womens, handwoven, cotton / silk, maker unknown, Bhutan, 1975-1985
Physical Description
This white ground, or kushuthara type of kira (Bhutanese woman's dress) comprises a rectangular piece of material, woven in three long strips hand stitched together. The overall design is composed of three broad lengthways bands filled with geometric motifs in pink, yellow, green, orange, red, blue and black, with a fine straight lengthways black line marking the centre. These broad bands are separated by two narrow bands outlined in brown, between which is a white band with small geometric motifs. The long (warpways) edges have wide borders made up of dark brown and black stripes with two bright yellow stripes in between. Small pink, red, grey and black medallions are sprinkled on these borders. The short ends are self fringed.
DIMENSIONS
Height
2760 mm
Width
1350 mm
PRODUCTION
Notes
Although this kushuthara was probably made in the late 1970s, the geometrical designs used are traditional motifs, many of which have a deeply religious Bhuddist significance. According to the literature, 'kushu designs, based on about a dozen basic patterns are so varied that they are impossible to classify.' The Bhutanese give evocative descriptions to many of the designs such as 'pigeon's eye' and 'rooster's comb'. The traditional Bhutanese loom is the backstrap, so called because the user leans back against a wide leather strap to keep the tension on the warp threads. The use of the backstrap produces long narrow strips of weaving which are joined together (three at a time for a kira) to form a piece of material wide enough for a dress. (Nowadays, some Bhutanese women also use a treadle loom which is a recent introduction from Tibet.) The Bhutanese have perfected 'a single-faced supplementary weft brocade', an extremely complicated and intricate weaving technique. For the kushuthara, 'some patterning (sapma) is composed with supplementary wefts that appear to lie on the finished face of the cloth; when not floating, they are laid in with wefts of the ground weave. More intricate motifs are created by a group of four supplementary wefts that are interworked with warp elements and each other by twining and wrapping (thrima)'.
HISTORY
Notes
Traditionally the dress of Bhutanese royal women, the kushuthara kira is nowadays worn by women other than royalty, for example, by girls in dance troupes. Purchased in Bhutan by the donor, Sue Tuckwell, in October 1982.
SOURCE
Credit Line
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program by Susan Tuckwell, 2002
Acquisition Date
19 December 2002
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