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Garments from Iran’s Safavid Dynasty are known for their opulent look, especially in their ornate detailing and construction. Robes such as these were the outermost portion of a Safavid outfit. They were close-fitting on the top and usually flared out at the hip. Adorned with delicate flowers, birds, and sometimes figural scenes, they were woven in various complex weaves using silk and metallic yarns and were typically reserved for Safavid court members. These luxurious garments were also noted and written about by Europeans who visited the Safavid court. If you look closely, you may notice that different designs and colors adorn the interior of some of these robes to create an even grander impact.

Iran, 17th century-18th century

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Nautch girls, Kabul, 1879

Photograph by John Burke, 2nd Afghan War (1878-1880), 1879.

Nautch girls were professional dancers. Burke took this photograph of a group of Kabul dancers when he was with Major-General Frederick Roberts' Kabul Field Force which had first entered the city in October 1879. He remained with the soldiers, photographing the city and its diverse inhabitants, until the Field Force's departure in May 1880.

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A hill woman from Ladakh, cooking her food, 1893

Oil on canvas by Gertrude Ellen Burrard (later Lady Gertrude) (1860-1928), 1892

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This silk turban, likely made in either eastern Afghanistan or the Swat Valley in Pakistan, was worn by men for ceremonial occasions. It consists of vibrant geometric patterns, curves, and colorful fringe detailing at the ends. This turban was expertly embroidered using surface satin stitch to strategically conserve the amount of silk. As a result, the decorative silk embroidery is displayed mostly on the front of the cloth leaving the cotton base on the backside more exposed since it would be hidden when worn. The designs on this turban follow the elaborate Phulkari type of embroidery commonly seen in Swat textiles.

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"Kalash Religion" by M. Witzel

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Pakistani Hindu women pose for a selfie covered in coloured powder as they celebrate the Holi festival in Peshawar, on March 20, 2019. - Holi, the popular Hindu spring festival of colours is observed at the end of the winter season on the last full moon of the lunar month.

ASIF HASSAN

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An Afghan father who has fled the war in Afghanistan holds his daughter in a refugee camp, 1980s.

Peter Turnley

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Bumburet Valley, 1998

Alberto Buzzola

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Bumburet Valley, 1998

Alberto Buzzola

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Teenage girls and boys from the Kalash tribe flirt during the Joshi spring festival May 15, 2008 in the remote Chitral village of Rumbur in northwestern Pakistan. The tiny minority group, in a conservative Muslim nation of more than 165 million people, holds the annual spring festival, featuring dance, music and special prayers, to bring good crops and honey to its agricultural communities.

John Moore

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An internally displaced girl, who fled a military offensive in the Swat Valley region, attends a class at the UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) Sheik Yaseen camp in Mardan district, about 150 km (93 miles) north west of Pakistan's capital Islamabad June 27, 2009.

Akhtar Soomro

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hi. hello even

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Aunt Tahira 

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My grandma’s in the front, in the white clothes.

My dad’s at the back, wearing a hat (and picking at his cousin’s head for some reason).

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9 pm

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Ayesha Bano in Souchaj

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Namza Couture