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Temple Cloth

19th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Brahmanical temple cloth of coarse cotton fabric painted, chiefly in red and black, with Ramayana scenes illustrating the conquest of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and the defeat of the demon-king Ravana.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Painted cotton
Brief description
Kalamkari temple cloth of painted cotton with scenes from the Yuddhakanda, probably made in Madurai region of Tamil Nadu, South India, 19th century
Physical description
Brahmanical temple cloth of coarse cotton fabric painted, chiefly in red and black, with Ramayana scenes illustrating the conquest of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and the defeat of the demon-king Ravana.
Dimensions
  • Top edge width: 2750mm
  • Bottom edge width: 2735mm
  • Proper right length: 1925mm
  • Proper left length: 1919mm
Marks and inscriptions
(Inscriptions are in Tamil)
Credit line
Purchased from Alfred Flemming
Object history
These 8 panels of Indian cotton were originally the property of General Sir Arthur Ellis (King Edward’s Equerry) to whom they were presented by a Maharajah. Sir Arthur Ellis sold them about 1878 to the carpet dealer Vincent J Robinson, who lent them in 1880 to the South Kensington Museum, where they were exhibited in the Indian Section until 1896. [Letter from A Fleming to V&A, 415M-24 Jan 1911, A Fleming Nominal File] They were then offered by Alexander Fleming to the V&A in 1911 and purchased for £5 a piece or £40 in total. [RP 1911-517M, A Fleming Nominal File]

Purchased from Alfred Fleming (Dealer), 53 Castle Road, Southsea, Portsmouth. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Museum records (Asia Department registers and/or Central Inventory) as part of a 2023 provenance research project.

RP 1911- 415M
Bibliographic reference
Kalamkari Temple Hangings Ahmedabad: Mapin Publishing, 2015
Collection
Accession number
IM.25-1911

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Record createdJune 25, 2009
Record URL
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