Lot 34
TWO 'ABBA' ROBES AND A WAISTCOAT
PERSIA AND SYRIA, 19TH CENTURY
Auction: 09 December 2026 from 14:00 GMT
Description
comprising a burgundy silk and gilt-metal woven robe and a cream and gilt silk woven robe, each made from two lengths of fabric with geometric designs, the cream robe inscribed in square kufic with the bismallah; the lot includes a small Ottoman cream linen waistcoat embroidered along the edges with gilt-metal floral motifs and crescent motifs
Dimensions
each robe approx. 135cm x 129cm, waistcoat 51cm x 54cm
Provenance
Ethel Luxmoore, OBE (Mrs C. de J. Luxmoore, 1878-1966); thence by descent.
Ethel Luxmoore led a fascinating life, travelling extensively throughout India and the Middle East. She lived in India from 1908 to 1919, followed by Mesopotamia from 1919 to 1920, where her husband served with the 99th Deccan Infantry. She was General Secretary of the YWCA in India, Burma and Ceylon from 1909 to 1914, and later served on the YWCA World Executive Committee from 1921 to 1938.
Footnote
For a similar ‘Abba’ robe in blue and a discussion on them in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, see accession number 883-1877. The latter has been attributed to Qajar Iran.