Indo-Portuguese Smock

Collar of seventeenth century smock from Portugal with Indo-Portuguese embroidery. Collar of seventeenth century smock from Portugal with Indo-Portuguese embroidery. Copyright Victoria and Albert Museum, London, acc. no. T.11-2014.

Indian craftsmen, especially from Bengal, were allegedly introduced to Portugal from the sixteenth century. The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, has a linen smock from Portugal dating to the first half of the seventeenth century and produced in the so-called Indo-Portuguese style, perhaps by Indian embroiderers living in Portugal.

The smock is embroidered in chain stitch with unbleached silk thread, and the seams are backstitched with silk. The designs are reminiscent of Indian examples, such as various palmate motifs and the lotus, but the linen fabric is European, and so is the T-shape of the garment.

V&A online catalogue (retrieved 21 June 2016).

WV

Last modified on Monday, 03 October 2016 17:59