Theatre Costume
1986 (made)
Headdress, the long back of overlapping layers of leaf and scallop shapes in shades of green At the top edge is a row of gold artificial silk leaf shapes, a 'spine' of which, trimmed with sequins, runs down centre back. Across the front is a broad band of two layers of perforated gold foil ribbon ending in a shallow point centre front, the lower edge trimmed with gold and green open braid, the centre front with gold motifs and the whole edged with gold on gold sequins.
Object details
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Synthetic silk, gold foil, gold braid, sequins, plastic and adhesive tape |
Brief description | Headdress for Sri V P Dhananjayan's dance drama Return of Spring, Academy of Indian Dance, 1986, designed by Shanta Dhananjayan. |
Physical description | Headdress, the long back of overlapping layers of leaf and scallop shapes in shades of green At the top edge is a row of gold artificial silk leaf shapes, a 'spine' of which, trimmed with sequins, runs down centre back. Across the front is a broad band of two layers of perforated gold foil ribbon ending in a shallow point centre front, the lower edge trimmed with gold and green open braid, the centre front with gold motifs and the whole edged with gold on gold sequins. |
Credit line | Given by Akademi |
Object history | Return of Spring was choreographed by Sri V P Dhananjayan for Academy of Indian Dance (Akademi) in London in 1986. It was adapted from an episode in Kalidasa's famous Sanskrit poem Kumara Sambhavan (Birth of Kumara), which had frequently been adapted into drama, dance and film in India. To fulfil the aims of the Academy, V P Dhananjayan had to create a work accessible to both western and eastern audiences while keeping the choreography within the abilities of the performers. Kathakali and Bharata Natyam were used for the divine characters and rustic folk style for the humans. T V Gopalakrishnan's music used both south and north Indian melodies and percussions. The designs by Craig Givens were imaginatively executed, especially the headdresses, the bases of which were punched metallic ribbon; these were inexpensive to make and light to wear, but gave the impression of richness. |
Collection | |
Accession number | S.13-2003 |
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Record created | January 27, 2004 |
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