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Ceremonial skirt-cloths

Ceremonial skirt-cloths

  • Place of origin:

    Gujarat, India (probably, made)

  • Date:

    late 18th century (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Unknown (production)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Painted cotton, mordant-dyed and resist-dyed

  • Museum number:

    IS.41&A-1988

  • Gallery location:

    In Storage

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This exceptionally large cotton ceremonial skirt-cloth (‘dodot’) was made on the Coromandel Coast of India for the Javanese market in Indonesia. The design combines a central medallion with a 'patchwork' pattern and borders decorated with fabulous animals including the Chinese ‘kylin’ (dragon-headed horse) and Indian ‘gajasimha’ (elephant-lion).

The Indian textile workers used a variety of techniques to create the design. With mordant-dyeing, a metallic salt is used to fix natural dyes. Resist-dyeing involves treating certain areas of the cloth with a ‘resist’ to prevent them absorbing the dye.

Physical description

Ceremonial skirt-cloths (dodot) of painted cotton, mordant-dyed and resist-dyed. A ceremonial garment combining a central medallion with a 'patchwork' design and borders decorated with animals including the Chinese kylin (dragon-headed horse) and Indian gajasimha (elephant-lion) in shades of red with pale blue on a cream ground.

Place of Origin

Gujarat, India (probably, made)

Date

late 18th century (made)

Artist/maker

Unknown (production)

Materials and Techniques

Painted cotton, mordant-dyed and resist-dyed

Dimensions

Width: 119 cm, Length: 318 cm

Object history note

Ceremonial garment. An exceptionally large cloth produced for the Indonesian market.

Descriptive line

Ceremonial skirt-cloths (dodot) of painted cotton, mordant-dyed and resist-dyed, probably made in Gujarat, late 18th century.

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

John Guy and Deborah Swallow eds. Arts of India: 1550-1900 London : V&A Publications, 1990. 240 p., ill. ISBN 1851770224.p.26, no.13. John Guy, Woven Cargoes. Indian Textiles in the East, Thames and Hudson, 1998, pl. 90, 91.

Production Note

Made on the Coromandel Coast for the Javanese market, Indonesia

Materials

Cotton

Techniques

Resist dyed

Categories

Textiles; Ceremonial objects

Collection code

SSEA

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Qr_O18920
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