The origin of mirror work can be traced back to Persia in the 13th Century, after which the craft made its way to India during the Mughal period. Islamic beliefs have been known to encourage the use of mirrors in arts and craft, saying that they trap the evil, reflecting evil spirits and bad luck away from the person who wears them. These beliefs have also transgressed to Hindu and Jain culture, where shisha torans were hung up on the front door to repel evil spirits. 

What we see today in India as mirror work originated in the 17th Century, when the Jat community’s ancestors migrated from Balochistan and brought their traditional techniques of mirror work with them. Since then, this handicraft has been carried forward for generations by the states of Rajasthan, Haryana, and Gujarat. These states then went on to become the main centres for this handicraft, and it is believed that they will continue to be as long as they follow traditions.

Adorned with mirror work embroidery, Rajasthani clothing always has traditional motifs and embellishments that reflect the colourful and bright lifestyle of the state. 

Mirror work is suitable to be carried out on light, medium, and heavy-weight fabrics like georgette, chiffon, cotton, silk, and crepe. The fabric colour is usually dark to ensure that the beautiful mirror embellishments stand out clearly, along with white, red, saffron, green, orange, and blue. It can be said that motifs and colours used in Rajasthani mirror work are vivid and bold. 

Commonly, there are three types of embellishments used in the mirror work, including hand-blown glass shisha, machine-cut glass shisha, and shisha embroidery.

Let us understand what mirror embroidery work is and how it is done. In hand-blown glass shisha, mica is used instead of mirrors since both of them are available in different shapes and sizes. Machine-cut glass shisha is a more modern technique suited for mass-production of mirror work embroidery, and is distinguishable by the silver backing, which is a result of the chemical process of making regular glass reflective. Last but not the least, shisha embroidery entails using not only small pieces of mirror, but also sequins, etc. The needlework creates intricate motifs that make it specific to this type of embroidery.

Mirror embellishments represent shapes found in nature, like flower petals, animals, and leaves. These mirror embellishments are bound to the fabric using decorative stitching, of which there are three main types — chikana, cretan, and buttonhole.

Chikana, popularly known as chain stitch, is an ancient sewing technique which is utilised as a solid framework of stitches that basically covers the entirety of the mirror’s face. This ensures that the embellishments are sealed properly onto the base fabric. 

In the cretan stitch, embroidery stitches are made by looping the thread. It is created to pull aside the chain stitch, exposing the mirror in the design. 

Buttonhole stitches are used to embellish circular-shaped ornaments, rings, and mirrors onto the base fabric. It is also used for applique-work, and several other Indian handicrafts.