Some Mughal women's dress research.

Jali says I need to keep up with my Mughal research, since there are likely others who want to see more stuff too.  As I find more resources, I will add them.

This is my current get-up.

The combination of dels, coats and full coverage dresses shows an influence that ranges from Persia to China.  I've added to these as I've done more research.

The interest started with Jali's own dels and his new persona.  About a year and a half ago, he decided to ditch the Scottish persona he'd kept since his earliest days in the SCA and go full Mongolian.  He's done so by learning how to construct a del, which he's now made in many different variations.

Photo by Tulis Herborgsson

He's even adapted the del pattern for fencing.

And he's... gone off on his own tangents with the things.

Jali's dels seemed familiar.  I purchased what appeared to be a Persian coat at an event years back, and wanted to incorporate it into my garb.  Before, I had a full wardrobe of late period Scottish/English and Elizabethan era garb, both male and female (male used mostly for heralding), along with several saris for late period Hindi play.  But after gaining weight, having a child and eight to ten years, I didn't fit well in much. And trying to get a seven year old daughter dressed and myself in garb was going to become an issue at some point.  After all, when in full bodies and skirts, it's not easy to drop everything and help brush hair and apply pants to a girlchild.  Well, maybe for some.  Not for me.

So I started researching.  I had seen a lot of sari-clad women in Indian miniatures, and had thought about going that way.  But since I am not married, the whole cool bling of tikka, hair jewelry and necklaces and the bindi are all no-gos (widows did not wear any jewelry or ornamentation).  

And then I found this single photo... on Pinterest.  Yes, please, go ahead and groan on that.  But it did inspire me.

The original Pinterest pin is here.

Everything about this image captivated me - the coats, the hats, the variety.  There's a turban and a rounded hat and veils and scarves and... ooh.  And the golden yellow coat, third from the right, seemed to be similar to the cut of the red coat I had.  So I started with it.

Sadly, I have had no luck finding any photos of the peacock coat and peach-red undercoat, but when I get those, they'll go right here.

The more I looked, the more I eventually found, including this photo of a woman in a Mughal persona at an SCA event.

Original pin here.

Then I discovered the Akbarnama.  At first, I thought hey, that's a crazy name for a book, someone must have made it up - and someone did, really they did, a long long time ago.  The Victoria and Albert Museum actually has a number of these images available for non-commercial download, which has been a great boon to me.  I've already gotten to study images such as this:

Baqi Muhammed Khan

which includes this information on its page.

This is part of a double-page illustration from the Akbarnama (Book of Akbar). It depicts the marriage festivities of the son of Maham Anaga, the foster-mother of the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1556–1605). Maham Anaga held a powerful position at court, as shown by her dominant position in the painting, sitting next to Akbar. An accompanying painting, Museum no. IS.2:8-1896, illustrates dancers and musicians performing in the celebrations. The Mughal court artist La’l was responsible for the design of the two-page composition, with Sanwala painting the details of this half.

The Akbarnama was commissioned by Akbar as the official chronicle of his reign. It was written in Persian by his court historian and biographer, Abu’l Fazl, between 1590 and 1596, and the V&A’s partial copy of the manuscript is thought to have been illustrated between about 1592 and 1595. This is thought to be the earliest illustrated version of the text, and drew upon the expertise of some of the best royal artists of the time. Many of these are listed by Abu’l Fazl in the third volume of the text, the A’in-i Akbari, and some of these names appear in the V&A illustrations, written in red ink beneath the pictures, showing that this was a royal copy made for Akbar himself. After his death, the manuscript remained in the library of his son Jahangir, from whom it was inherited by Shah Jahan.

The V&A purchased the manuscript in 1896 from Frances Clarke, the widow of Major General John Clarke, who bought it in India while serving as Commissioner of Oudh between 1858 and 1862.

SQUEE!

So this one image has a whole lot in it.  For one, Akbar's step-mom 

kinda looks like this woman from that first inspirational image above.

And the guys on the right?  

Sure look like they're wearing dels to me.

So I have been delving into the many pages of the Akbarnama, looking for more.  I've also discovered other imagery from the Victoria and Albert museum and other Akbar-period illuminations and miniature paintings that show this modified Persian coat or del.

And I found another book existed called the Baburnama, commissioned by the Mughal empire's originator, Babur.  So what I gather from this is if you add -ama to the end of something, it documents something (which makes me look at Futurama in a whole different light, LOL).

This one really speaks to me.  The illumination discussed on this page is of Babur consulting with his grandmother.

Look closely.

THAT is what I'm trying to replicate. But take into consideration, this version of the Baburnama was a replicated version commissioned by Akbar (this piece currently lives in the collection of the British Library at London).  So this piece was created in the 1590s.  I'm thinking the style may be tailored a bit, just like we see the Virgin Mary in Renaissance paintings dressed in Renaissance clothing.

I'm good with that.

I'm planning on delving into the Baburian (not to be confused with Barberian) history soon, some of which has been translated on this page.

I've also found similar pieces out there, including the illumination discussed on this page.

And then there's piece, depicting Kublai Khan and His Empress Enthroned, from a Jami al-Twarikh in an image dated to 1596 currently held in the Smithsonian.

I haven't figured out how to get that entire image on this page yet, but you can look at it here.

Look closely at this detail of the woman witnessing, though.

I wonder, back in the day, did they have some sort of saying such as
"the higher the hat, the closest to God (or whatever deity)?"

Wait, what?  See, I'm looking closely at these images, and I'm noticing many of these looser coats include what could either be a shorter undercoat - or the trim/hem line from the crossover portion of a del.

I'm also loving the guys over here wearing dels and Persian coats all up next to each other.

And then there's this awesome action happening over here...

Then there's the Baburian grandmother's hat, which is my next project.  I am hoping to be able to recreate a cool hat that fits the garb, something like the ladies are wearing in this illumination. 

This image came up in a generic image search off the first of the illumination images up above.  It's from a British Library exhibit that toured in New Delhi.  This article goes further in-depth as to Persian influences on Mughal depictions in art, but I still haven't found the original source for this image.

A third instance of this image on the internet is found via Pinterest with this caption:

Akbar is re-united with his mother Hamida Bano Begum after an absence of two years. This scene, from the Akbarnāmah, takes place in the women’s quarters. One of the ladies is almost certainly Gulbadan Begum sister of Humayun.

The examples of the hats I'm wearing in the photos at the top of this page are actually repurposed felt hats I've found while thrifting, with brims removed and bling added.  While inquiring about hat patterns, I was sent this article. If its research is sound, the boqta was designed to differentiate men and women at a distance.  Intriguing.

I'm seriously loving on this grandmother's hat, though.  And now I have to figure out how to make it, grandma-style.

I've come across a whole lot of intriguing things while searching out these images.  For instance, this piece held at the San Diego Museum of Art shows Ikhlas Khan with a Petition and is dated to 1650.  Is he wearing a del AND a Persian coat? 

There's also that whole sheer del thing I'm looking at... which is another subject altogether. I'm thinking translucent silk...

***
(next addition 5-2-16)

And then I find Babur's sister.

This is from an unknown artist, another suspected manuscript from the Baburnama. The caption:
This illustration was removed from a manuscript of the Baburnama ('Book of Babur'), the Persian translation of the memoirs of Babur (r. 1526-1530) who founded the Mughal empire. Babur wrote in his primary language, eastern Turkish, and the translation was commissioned by his grandson, the Mughal emperor Akbar, so that the contents could be widely read in the empire. The translator, Mirza Abdu'r Rahim, was the Khan-i khanan or Prime Minister, and completed his work in AH 998/AD1589. He presented it to Akbar on the emperor's return to Agra from Kabul on 24 November 1589. Multiple copies of his text were made. The illustrated volume to which this painting originally belonged is regarded as having been done in Akbar's painting atelier, the Ketab khana or 'House of Books'. At least seven illustrated copies of the Baburnama have survived, datable to between 1589 and the end of Akbar's life in 1605. This page depicts the reunion of Babar with his sister, Khanzada Begum, at Kunduz in 1511 after her release from captivity by their Iranian enemies. The painting was probably done in about 1590.

The veil seems to go from the back of the hat around the front under the chin.  Interesting!

Okay, though what is she wearing?  An open front robe thingy. Now, I can't tell if it's a del, but Khanzada Begum is definitely NOT wearing a Persian coat but an overjacket that goes straight down in the front, no clasps.  Awesome.

But look over to the left... the girl to the far left is wearing one of these crazy hats AND a coat AND a long dress AND what appears to be a sari over that.  Damn, woman, were you cold?

The lady next to her has a headscarf wrapped around her, I'm thinking probably a 60 incher, tha covers most everything.  The third one has the hat and then something weird at the back - could that be a braid?  I don't really know, she could just have a scarf wrapped around herself, too. And then the guy next to her is wearing a del and a turban, and Babur has a turban, a Persian coat (?) and long sleeves and a belt and dang.

Also, Begum has a baldric.  With tassels.  Hmmm...

So it's time to make a hat. And I'm all about adapting things.  So flower-pot basket, here we go.

I'm taking a wool scarf that Jali accidentally put through the dryer to cover it.  This thing came out feeling like felt, so what the heck.

But will it fit?

More or less.

It doesn't have the same angling as some of the illuminations.  I wonder if the pull of a veil will change that.  Must start thinking about veilage.

Rukmini, on her wedding day.  The caption:

The Mughal emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605) had major Sanskrit texts translated into Persian, the language of the court and of the elite of the empire. This page is from a dispersed illustrated translation of the Harivamsa, the life of Krishna appended to the Mahabharata, and was done in about 1590. The painting was later added to an album and given decorated borders, probably in Lucknow in the 18th century. 
In this episode, Krishna has decided to marry and discovered a ceremony had been arranged in which Rukmini, the daughter of Raja Bhishmaka of Vidarbha, would choose a husband. Krishna appeared among the assembled princes and was courteously received but due to the plotting of Krishna's enemies, the ceremony was not held. When Rukmini was eventually betrothed to another king, Krishna abducted her.

Look closer at Rukmini.  She's wearing a tikka.

Yes, Tikka... on her wedding day.  Are those earrings?  Could be.  Lots of bracelets, too.  But she's getting married so yeah, that's AOK.  Me?  Old formerly married woman doesn't get the tikka.  At least, I see no proof of that in period.

The combination she is wearing here is also interesting.  Is it a choli and skirt with overskirt?  Pants?  It's confusing.  But that is definitely a very sheer patterned veil over it all.