Textile
ca. 1850 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This is a fine example of kincob, an anglicised term of uncertain origin. Kincob is a rich silk fabric with patterns woven in a weft thread of gold and silver-wrapped thread (zari). It is made by wrapping gold or silver wire around a silk core (kalabuttu zari). Kincob was usually sold by weight. Benares (Varanasi ), an important centre of fine weaving from ancient times, developed as a silk weaving centre during the Mughal period. It still has many fine silk weaving workshops. The trailing vine pattern on this piece is found in many other media including stone carving.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Parts | This object consists of 5 parts.
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Materials and techniques | Woven silk, gold-wrapped and silk thread brocade |
Brief description | Textile, fragments, woven silk, gold-wrapped thread brocade, Varanasi, ca. 1850 |
Physical description | Woven silk with flower design brocaded in stripes of gold-wrapped thread and coloured silks on purple silk ground. |
Object history | Exhibited at the Great Exhibition, 1851. Some of the examples shown at the 1851 Exhibition were afterwards sold off by weight for their metal value alone. |
Subject depicted | |
Summary | This is a fine example of kincob, an anglicised term of uncertain origin. Kincob is a rich silk fabric with patterns woven in a weft thread of gold and silver-wrapped thread (zari). It is made by wrapping gold or silver wire around a silk core (kalabuttu zari). Kincob was usually sold by weight. Benares (Varanasi ), an important centre of fine weaving from ancient times, developed as a silk weaving centre during the Mughal period. It still has many fine silk weaving workshops. The trailing vine pattern on this piece is found in many other media including stone carving. |
Collection | |
Accession number | 742-1852 |
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Record created | July 28, 2008 |
Record URL |
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