Temple Cloth
early 20th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Temple cloth of woven cotton, painted in dye-colours. The cloth depicts in strip-picture form the beginning of the Hindu epic the Ramayana. The central picture shows Rama (an incarnation of Vishnu, who at the top of the cloth is seen as himself reclining on the serpent Adishesha) enthroned with his bride Sita and his brothers in attendance. The most unusual aspect of this cloth is that the accompanying text describing the pictures is not in the normal Tamil or Telugu, but in English, though of a rather bizarre kind, presumably that of the cotton painters or a literate associate.
The cloth is painted predominantly in dull red, with some very faded yellows and blues, all outlined in black or brownish-black. Weak blue looks as though it may have been applied with a brush rather than dyed.
The cloth is painted predominantly in dull red, with some very faded yellows and blues, all outlined in black or brownish-black. Weak blue looks as though it may have been applied with a brush rather than dyed.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Woven cotton, painted in dye-colours |
| Brief description | Temple cloth, woven cotton, painted in dye-colours, South India, early 20th century |
| Physical description | Temple cloth of woven cotton, painted in dye-colours. The cloth depicts in strip-picture form the beginning of the Hindu epic the Ramayana. The central picture shows Rama (an incarnation of Vishnu, who at the top of the cloth is seen as himself reclining on the serpent Adishesha) enthroned with his bride Sita and his brothers in attendance. The most unusual aspect of this cloth is that the accompanying text describing the pictures is not in the normal Tamil or Telugu, but in English, though of a rather bizarre kind, presumably that of the cotton painters or a literate associate. The cloth is painted predominantly in dull red, with some very faded yellows and blues, all outlined in black or brownish-black. Weak blue looks as though it may have been applied with a brush rather than dyed. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Credit line | Given by Mrs S. Hughes in memory of Henry Castree Hughes |
| Object history | Bought by Second Lieutenant H. C. Hughes on leave at "a village in South India, consisting of three temples, some good craft shops and little else" (information supplied by donor) in 1915. (Name of village not recorded.) Registered File number 1977/1964. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.5-1977 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | June 25, 2009 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
