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Palampore

ca. 1720-1740 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The main designs on this large chintz hanging are taken from Chinese sources, with corner medallions in the form of fruits enclosing a scholar and his attendant (bottom right and top left) and a man and a woman under a tree (bottom left and top right). The central medallion has a scene of a sage meeting an emperor. The flower baskets in the border recall ceramics of the early to mid 18th century. The main field of the chintz has a speckled pink ground, produced by sprinkling the alum mordant on to the cloth. The large single flowers are like those found in Mughal album paintings of the 17th century, and are not usually seen on western-market textiles like this one.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Painted and dyed cotton chintz
Brief description
Palampore of painted and dyed cotton chintz, Coromandel Coast, ca. 1720-1740
Physical description
Large palampore (wall-hanging or bed-cover) of painted and dyed cotton chintz. The design is mainly in Chinese style, with a central medallion showing a Chinese horseman, four corner medallions in the shape of pomegranates and citrons with Chinese figures inside, Chinese figures and cranes in the field, and in the border are Chinese-style vessels filled with flowers. Also in the field are Mughal-style flowering plants. The field of the ground is a speckled pink, and the border is white. The palampore is composed of two lengths of cotton with a selvage to selvage seam down the centre. The edges are bound with striped tape.
Dimensions
  • Top edge width: 2162mm
  • Bottom edge width: 2112mm
  • Proper right length: 3309mm
  • Proper left length: 3287mm
  • Weight: 19kg (Note: Includes roller and pole)
Taken from Origins of Chintz, cat.no. 92.
Style
Credit line
Given by G. P. Baker
Object history
Given by G.P.Baker
Subjects depicted
Summary
The main designs on this large chintz hanging are taken from Chinese sources, with corner medallions in the form of fruits enclosing a scholar and his attendant (bottom right and top left) and a man and a woman under a tree (bottom left and top right). The central medallion has a scene of a sage meeting an emperor. The flower baskets in the border recall ceramics of the early to mid 18th century. The main field of the chintz has a speckled pink ground, produced by sprinkling the alum mordant on to the cloth. The large single flowers are like those found in Mughal album paintings of the 17th century, and are not usually seen on western-market textiles like this one.
Bibliographic references
  • Irwin, John and Katherine Brett, Origins of Chintz, London, 1970. With a catalogue of Indo-European cotton-paintings in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, and the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. ISBN 112900534. p. 105, cat. no. 92, pl. 88
  • Crill, Rosemary, Chintz: Indian Textiles for the West, London, 2008. Plate 39, pp.82 and 83
Collection
Accession number
IS.141-1950

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Record createdFebruary 23, 2006
Record URL
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