Zardosi
Zardozi is an ancient Persian art (Zar in Persian means gold and Dozi is embroidery) which has been passed down for many generations, dating back before the Mughal empire, reaching its zenith under the patronage of Emperor Akbar in the 17th century. Zardozi adorned the costumes of the court, wall hanging, scabbards, regal side walls of tents and the rich trappings of elephants and horses. Intricate patterns traced in gold and silver, studded with seed pearls and precious stones enhanced the shimmering beauty of silk, velvet and brocade.

Zari work was mainly done in Madras and Zardozi in Hyderabad until a few decades ago. Today, Lucknow is home to this finest work of gold and silver embroidery.

The non availability of gold on a large scale became a hurdle in the making of zari threads. The problem was overcome by combining copper wire with a golden sheen and gold colored silk thread.

Zardozi embroidery is hand stitched predominately by Muslim men. Zardozi is fashioned with a needle that resembles a very small crochet hook which is used to run up and down through the cloth, much like a sewing machine, while the cloth is pulled tightly over a large wooden frame. Zardozi has remained as an appliqué method of embroidery. With one hand the craftsman holds a retaining thread below the fabric. In the other he holds a hook or a needle with which he picks up the appliqué materials. Then he passes the needle or hook through the fabric. After days of painstaking labor, the result is an exquisite gold-veined work of art.

Transfer of Motif / Pattern on to the Fabric
The next step was the transfer of the motif or design to be embroidered onto the fabric. The motif was first sketched on a piece of thick paper. Its outlines were perforated with a needle and the piece of paper placed over the cloth. Finely powdered charcoal tied in a Muslim cloth was passed over the design. After the entire area had been covered the design was gone over with a piece of yellow clay and then the material was stretched on a wooden frame, ready to be embroidered.

 
The Embroidery
The Zardozi craftsmen or zardoze (pronounced Zar - doe - zay) as they are called sit cross-legged around the Addaa – the wooden framework with the tools of their trade. These include curved hooks, needles, salmaa pieces which are stiff gold wires twisted like springs and cut to the required length, sitaaras or metal stars, round sequins, glass and plastic beads, dabkaa – a combination of gold and silk thread and kasab – silver or gold-plated silver thread

The most prevalent zardozi elements you see on this photograph are segments of dabkaa, a lengthy and flexible tightly wound metal spiral that was cut into fragments and then stitched to the fabric much like a bead. Kora, a heavier and darker dabkaa is also very prevalent. Wrapped around each red or green plastic jewel-like bead are segments of salma, a square sided dabkaa that is wiry and erratic in appearance.