Intended for use as a garment, clothing. Choli or bodice, blue cotton with dark yellow border striped with pink and blue, the bodice and sleeves are decorated with mica printed onto gum, in flower heads which contain centres of cut mirror pieces. There are decorative silk borders, and on the back of the bodice is a central star-shaped flower design surrounded by mirror flowers. EMBELLISHMENT Both natural and man-made products are used to decorate textiles in India. Mirror-work (associated with western India and Pakistan) is perhaps the best known. Embroiderers also sew the wing-cases of ‘jewel beetles’ (Bupestridae) on to fabric to dazzling effect. European glass beads are used to embellish garments and household objects, while minerals such as mica can be ground up and printed with adhesive onto fabric. Mica-printed jacket Cotton, mirror-work and adhesive-printed mica powder Satara, Maharashtra, about 1855 V&A: 6558 (IS) Mirror-work choli (bodice) Cotton embroidered with silk and mirror-work Kutch, Gujarat, about 1900 Given by Mrs A.R. Ditmas. V&A: IS.55-1957 Hat Cotton with glass beads Chennai, Tamil Nadu, about 1855 V&A: 0345 (IS) Border for a dress Cotton muslin with beetle wing-cases and gilded silver Possibly Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh/Telangana, about 1850 Given by Mrs Mary Gordon. V&A: IS.486-1992 [03/10/2015-10/01/2016] Textile, jacket, blue cotton and silk, mica, mirror glass, Satara, ca. 1855