1860s Burmese woman's jacket,  

Posted by ေရွးျမန္မာ in


Object-Woman's jacket, Ein-gyi
Date- early 1860s
Techniques- Cotton, embroidered and hand-quilted with yellow silk
Place-Burma
Dimensions
Length 70 cm (shoulder to hem)
Width 37 cm (across shoulders)
Length 50 cm (sleeve)
Current Location-Victoria & Albert Museum
Museum number-5623(IS)

This neatly tailored white cotton jacket, flaring gently over the hips with its distinctive triangular headed pendants, would have been worn by a fashionable Burmese woman during the second half of the nineteenth century. It was obtained in 1867 from Prome, a town in central Burma lying on the Irrawaddy River, which had recently fallen under British control. Britain annexed Burma stage by stage through the 19th century until in 1885 the entire kingdom came under British rule. Known as an ein-gyi this jacket is embroidered and quilted in yellow silk with wave and twisted rope patterns typical of Burmese design. It would have formed an ensemble, as shown, with a wrap skirt (9756 IS) and breast cloth (IM.10-1909).

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