Usage – ways of dressing and others
After exploring the different factors that are involved in decorative development, some examples allow the evocation of the role and place that fabrics play in the social life, as marks of identity, such as elements of profane or religious rituals or as vectors of artistic expression.
The majority of decorated fabrics that enter into social rituals, or have a symbolic function with their patterns or colours, are mainly clothing but they can also have other profane or ceremonial uses.
partridge cage over
partridge cage cover, Afghanistan, Faryab, Andkhoi, Uzbek, 20th century Cotton (Z-twist) Bernard Dupaigne Mission 71.1973.91.24
Cage covers were adapted to the bell shape of the cages themselves. Partridge fighting, never fatal, is – or was – organized in the villages. The cages were used purely to separate the birds during these fights. After the cloth has been cut and machine-sewn together, a reserve is prepared by knot tying, sometimes also on pinched pleats. An indigo dye is then used. Patterns are always relatively simple. 61x83 cm