Ancient Pakistan, Vol. XX-2009 103
A Journey of Stitches from Tradition to the Heritage: Embroidery of Swat
Muhammad Sher Ali Khan
"Embroidery is not the material necessity; it is done for pleasure, for the women's own eyes and for those of
her family."...
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Ancient Pakistan, Vol. XX-2009 103
A Journey of Stitches from Tradition to the Heritage: Embroidery of Swat
Muhammad Sher Ali Khan
"Embroidery is not the material necessity; it is done for pleasure, for the women's own eyes and for those of
her family." (Roland Paiva & B. Dupaigne, 1993:7)
The fertile lands of Swat Valley have developed both high art – stone carving and sculpture which has no
further extent after the arrival of Islam, and folk arts; practiced in a true tradition until the second half of the
twentieth century. There are enough texts of historians and scholars available to understand the historical,
geographical, political, and social structure of the valley, but domestic crafts have always been neglected or
noticed occasionally. The preceding lines is a description of the so-called ‘traditional embroidery’ of Swat,
based on two envelope-shaped purses, the wedding gifts of my grandfather; embroidered in the 1920s.
Early decades of the 20th
century marked a great change i
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