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.
The gold wire known as zari is the thread used for zardozi embroidery. The making of zari thread is a very tedious job involving winding, twisting, wire drawingand gold plating of thread. The embroidery of zari zardozi is performed in a very interesting manner. Gold wire is carefully revolved around a silver bar tapered at one end. Then they are heated in furnace till gold and silver alloy is formed. The gilt wire, when drawn through a series of holes made on steel plates, comes out glittering as gold. The gold-coated silver wire is then flattened and twisted around silk thread to obtain zari.
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 art of zardozi was revived along with many traditional methods of embroidery in the middle of this century. Zari work was mainly done in Madras and zardoziin Hyderabad until a few decades ago. Today, Uttar Pradesh is home to this finest work of gold and silver embroidery. This craft has caught on to a larger region of Bareilly such as Allampur, Faridpur, Biharkala, Nawabganj and Chandpur.Zardozi on kurta-pajamas and chooridar- achkans (tight trousers and men’s coat) have gained popularity among the men.Zardozi-embroidered garments have become quite popular with Indians abroad. Zardozi is also beginning to attract the attention of top fashion designers the world over.