Zardozi is Persian for gold sewing: metallic wire, pearls and sequins couched by hand onto silk and velvet. It dressed emperors and temple deities, and it is why a Shahi Zardozi piece is an heirloom first and decor second.
Where Zardozi comes from
The word is Persian, zar for gold and dozi for sewing. The craft arrived in India with Persian artisans and flourished under the Mughals, especially in Lucknow, Bhopal and Hyderabad. Court robes, tent hangings, horse trappings and temple canopies were all worked in Zardozi.
The materials
Real Zardozi uses metallic wire in several forms: dabka (a fine coiled wire), nakshi (a twisted wire), kora (matte) and chikna (bright). Freshwater pearls, sequins and semi-precious stones are set among the wire. The ground is silk, velvet or heavy satin.
The adda
The fabric is stretched on a low wooden frame called an adda, and the karigar sits at it with a hooked needle called an aari. The motif is pricked onto paper, pounced through in chalk, and then the wire is couched down stitch by stitch. A ceremonial piece can take most of a year.
Living with Zardozi
Zardozi is for the threshold and the table: a toran above a doorway, a runner down a dining table, a panel that catches lamplight. Never wash it. Store flat in muslin with neem or camphor, and let a specialist clean it.
Questions people ask
Is machine embroidery Zardozi?
No. Zardozi is by definition hand-couched metallic wire. UPSKARA never sells machine embroidery as handwork, and the Shahi Zardozi pieces are made on the adda in Lucknow.
How can I tell real gold wire?
Real dabka and nakshi have weight and a slightly irregular coil; the light moves across them unevenly. Machine thread is flat and uniform.
Which UPSKARA pieces use Zardozi?
The Shahi Zardozi wing is being finished now. In the meantime, the hand-painted border panels in Darbar and Gokul carry embellished handwork in the same spirit.
