Hanging
About this object
History of use
Wall hanging used in Hindu festival.
Cultural context
festivals
Iconographic meaning
Mirror work compensates for arid desert environment, reflecting pinpoints of light which resemble shimmering water.
Specific techniques
Backing; spin unidentifiable, 2 ply and s twist. Cotton balanced plain weave 1/1 with border of contrasting red weft, cut, constructed and embroidered with buttonhole herringbone and chain stitches as well as machine stitched. Brown embroidery; spin and ply unidentifiable, silk. Yellow face; no available threads for spin and fibre identification. Cotton(?) simple plain weave 1/1, cut, unshaped, constructed and embroidered.
Physical description
Yellow square with embroidered patterns. Centre has eight green, red and brown mirrored and dyed parrots which face each other in pairs. Nine large, stylized, brown flowers with many petals and mirror centres and multi-coloured sprays and cones. Cones are arranged singly or in fan shaped patterns. Brown floral pattern and sprays are repeated in a wide border, defined by an inner and outer narrow border and are banded with red, green and blue. Outer edge is bordered with multi-coloured triangles topped by tridents and there are mirrors between each triangle. White-yellow backing consists of two triangles stitched together; one rectangle has a narrow woven red edge the other in blue. Hanging loops are on each corner. Some embroidery stitches pass through the backing.
Categories
Materials
Date Made
1890-1920
Date Acquired
12 Nov 1985
How Acquired
Donated
Credit Line
The Beverly and Milton Israel Indian Textile CollectionMore...
Measurements
80.5 x 82.7 cm
Object Number
Ef422