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Elephant patolu

Elephant patolu

  • Place of origin:

    Gujarat, India (made)

  • Date:

    19th century (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    unknown (production)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Double ikat silk

  • Museum number:

    IS.74-1993

  • Gallery location:

    In Storage

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This type of silk cloth is called a ‘patolu’. The design of four large elephants fills the entire length of the cloth. As far as we can judge, ‘patola’ of this type were made in Gujarat, India, exclusively for export to Indonesia. There they fulfilled a ceremonial role for their aristocratic owners. Over time people came to treasure ‘patola’ as heirlooms, revere them as sacred objects and credit them with magical powers.

The weaving technique used to create ‘patola’ is very sophisticated. Weavers tie and dye the warp and weft threads in patterns and then weave them together to create a pattern on both sides of the cloth.

Physical description

Red and black ceremonial cloth with two pairs of caparisoned elephants.

Place of Origin

Gujarat, India (made)

Date

19th century (made)

Artist/maker

unknown (production)

Materials and Techniques

Double ikat silk

Dimensions

Length: 480 cm, Width: 100 cm

Object history note

Made in Gujarat for the Indonesian market

Descriptive line

Ceremonial cloth (patolu), silk, double ikat, depicting two pairs of caparisoned elephants, Gujarat for the Indonesian market, 19th century

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

J. Guy, Woven Cargoes. Indian Textiles in the East, 1998, pp. 4-5.

Materials

Silk

Techniques

Ikat

Subjects depicted

Lion; Elephant; Tiger

Categories

Textiles

Collection code

SSEA

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Qr_O25647
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