New Donations to the MTS Study Collection

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New Donations to the MTS Study Collection 08/20/2012 by Michelle Drummey It is not too often that we at Museum Textile Services get the chance to study contemporary objects, no less ones from the Middle East. Recently, Mona Habib generously donated a collection of Afghanistani and Pakistani garments acquired during her time with various overseas service organizations in the ‘90s.

A Qameez, or long tunic, from a shalwar qameez from Swat in Pakistan. MTS study collection. Two outfits are of Pakistani origin. The first is an embroidered Swati shalwar qameez, the traditional dress consisting of a long tunic and loose trousers, from Swat in KhyberPakhtunkhwa (formerly known as North-West Frontier Province). Swat is popular with tourists and their embroidered goods attract buyers both locally and worldwide. Included from Pakistan was another outfit from Sind Province. This outfit consists not only of the shalwar qameez, but also includes a matching dupatta, or scarf. Small mirrors are set


into embroidered circles on the front of the dress.

A Sindhi Qameez of Pakistani origin. MTS study collection. Ms. Habib purchased a third outfit from a group of Afghani refugees living in the former North-West Frontier Province. Like those of Pakistani origin, this example is also a sherwal qameez. Unlike the others, which are uniform in pattern or color, this sher wal qameez has a patchwork of horizontal bands of differing colors.


A Qameez purchased from Afghanistani refugees. MTS study collection. Generous donations to our study collection enable us to teach students and interns a wealth of information about costume and textiles from around the world. We thank Ms. Habib for this wonderful opportunity to learn more about the cultures of Pakistan and Afghanistan through their clothing. Postscript After this blog was written, a long-time client of MTS donated a lifetime of textile souvenirs collected from all corners of the globe. Many still have their tags indicating the location they are from, the price that was paid, and even the weaver. Stay tuned for more exciting tales from the MTS study collection!


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