The dress had been on show at Kedleston since it first came into our care in 1997 when the dress was gifted to HM Government by Lady Alexandra Metcalfe (Mary’s daughter) in lieu of inheritance tax.
The making of the dress
Made of zardozi embroidered fabric traditionally worn by Mughal court rulers, it appropriated the motif of a peacock feather - an important Hindu symbol, particularly associated with Lord Krishna and the goddess Saraswati.
The distinctive peacock feather pattern is created by intricate hand-stitched metalwork embroidery. The fabric itself was made in India and embroidered by professional embroiderers from the Workshop of Kishan Chand (Cathy Hay, an independent Dress Historian and Maker, discovered the name of the embroidery firm in a feature in the Illustrated London News, 17 January 1903). The ‘eye’ of each plume is set with iridescent green beetle-wing cases, giving the glittering appearance of emeralds.