Originating in a village called Zari in Iran, tilla hand embroidery arrived in India with Islamic saint, scholar, and religious head Shah-e-Hamdan. He migrated to Kashmir along with 700 craftsmen, after Emperor Timur invaded the erstwhile kingdom of Persia in the 14th century. Hamdan and his band of craftsmen taught Kashmiri locals in the art of the fine embroidery. Later, when the Mughals saw examples of tilla hand embroidery (or the Tilla Zari), they incorporated it in their clothes and for embellished furnishings.

In the olden days, silver and gold metal were hammered and flattened into the fine thread used for embroidery. It lent an antique element to clothes and upholstery. Later, gold and silver dust was used, due to the rising cost of precious yarns. Now, silver and gold-plated copper is also used in tilla work. Even so, it retains its coveted position in a Kashmiri girl’s trousseau. The base fabrics for tilla range from pashmina to silk and cotton. The painstaking technique involves needle work, with each stitch secured by a knot to enhance the lifespan for the embroidery.

Among the most commonly found Tilla embroidery motifs are the paisley, Chinar leaves, flowers of the valley like roses, and some traditional Persian motifs. Contemporary artists practice tilla embroidery on pherans (traditional long garments), salwar suits, skirts as well as chappals and jutis (footwear).

Transferred from the Indian Museum in 1879, a cashmere angarkha (men's tunic) adorned with pure gold tilla hand-embroidery is now in the permanent collection of London’s Victoria & Albert museum. This provenance of this particular angarkha was traced back to 1855 in Lahore.

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