Angia (garment)

Angia (also angiya,[1] angi,[2] or anggiya) is an obsolete form of bodice or breast-cloth of Indian origin dating from the 19th century, covering the entire upper body from bust to waist and tied at the back.[3][4][5] Very short sleeves, if any, and high waist characterized the angia, which was made of fine cotton material such as muslin. Women in India wore it beneath dresses such as Peshwaj.[6][7]

Francis Buchanan-Hamilton and Captain Medows Taylor assert that stitched garments of this kind did not exist prior to the Muslim invasions in India.[8]

Style

The angia, an early version of the modern ladies' blouse,[9] was completely enclosed in front and contoured to the bosom. Its backside was tied with strings or ribbons both across the shoulder and below the bosom line;[4] yet, unlike other tight inner garments such as corsets, it merely covered the bosom without providing support to the back. It was worn by both Hindus and Muslims.[10]

The Ahir woman in Haryana was easily identifiable by her angia, lehnga (similar to a ghagri but shorter), and orhni.[3] In Punjab, women wore angia of colored cloth.[11]

Artwork

In a Johan Zoffany 1785 painting that still survives in the India Office Records in London, Fyze Palmer (Mughal wife Fyze Baksh) can be seen, barefoot and dressed in traditional Lucknavi court attire: "a magnificent saffron Peshwaz and dupatta over a brief angia."[12][13]

See also

References
  1. Penzer, N. m (1924). Ocean Of Story Vol.2. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 50.
  2. Dhir, V. P.; Bajaj, B. Raj (1976). Haryana district gazetteers: Karnal. Haryana Gazetteers Organisation, Chandigarh. p. 92.
  3. A. BISWAS. INDIAN COSTUMES. pp. 127, 42.
  4. The Edinburgh Review. A. and C. Black. 1867. p. 69.
  5. Jukes, Andrew John (1900). Dictionary of the Jatki or Western Panjábi language. Religious Bk. & Tract Soc. p. 22.
  6. Buchanan, Francis (1928). Account of the district of Purnea in 1809-10. p. 138.
  7. Umair Mirza (1990-01-01). Historical Documents Of Eastern India. p. 104.
  8. Watson, John Forbes (1867). The Textile Manufactures and the Costumes of the People of India. Allen. p. 58.
  9. Pradesh (India), Madhya (1971). Madhya Pradesh: Betul. Supplement. Government Central Press. p. 105.
  10. The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British and Foreign India, China, and Australia. Parbury, Allen, and Company. 1839. p. 251.
  11. Punjab District and State Gazetteers: Part A. Compiled and published under the authority of the Punjab government. 1900. p. 87.
  12. Dalrymple, William (2003). White Mughals : love and betrayal in eighteenth-century India. Internet Archive. New York : Viking. p. 397. ISBN 978-0-670-03184-9.
  13. "BBC Four – Love and Betrayal in India: The White Mughal – A love story that broke the conventional boundaries of Empire". BBC. Retrieved 2022-01-12. A painting of General William Palmer and his Mughal wife Fyze Baksh, by Johann Zoffany.
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