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Hanging
unknown - Enlarge image
Hanging
- Place of origin:
Rangoon, Burma (made)
- Date:
second half 19th century (made)
- Artist/Maker:
unknown (production)
- Materials and Techniques:
Black woollen cloth, with appliqué work of satin, woollen and cotton material, outlined and embroidered with gold and silver cord and sequins
- Museum number:
IS.5-1900
- Gallery location:
In store
This long kalaga, or pictorial textile hanging, was used to decorate the upper walls of a room. Kalagas were also used to partition a room or, by the Burmese, to form a screen outside on festive occasions. The hanging, of black woollen cloth with an appliqué design of shaped coloured fabrics, sequins and tinsel, shows a scene from a mythological pwe (play) representing a royal procession approaching a Buddhist temple. The costumes of the figures are depicted in the stylised tradition of Burmese theatre and relate to those of the Mandalay Court of around 1880.
This example was obtained by the donor, a British officer, while stationed in Burma in the latter part of the 19th century. Britain had annexed Burma stage by stage through the 19th century until in 1885 the entire kingdom came under British rule. These textiles grew in popularity in Burma from the middle of the 19th century. By the end of the century they were being acquired by both Burmese and Europeans alike.
