Textile
c. 1850 (made)
This canopy was one of the many richly decorated textile furnishings used at the Indian court. It would have been suspended over the gaddi, the textile used as the rulers seat. The canopy represented divine sanction and protection, and also helped to mark out the royal space within the court. The use of a canopy to denote kingship has a very long history in India, originating in the basic need to shield the ruler from the heat of the sun but evolving into a symbolic decorative structure that was often use in interior courtly settings.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Velvet, silk, and metallic thread |
| Brief description | Textiles, canopy, North India, c. 1850 |
| Dimensions |
|
| Object history | Transferred from the India Museum in 1879. Slip book entry 2462: 'Blue velvet Saddle Cloth / Bombay / 1873 / Original nos. 2-1039-14 No.18 / for the Saddle in Court'. 1880 Register Entry: '9653. SADDLE CLOTH. Velvet, gold embroidered; Bombay. 2462'. |
| Summary | This canopy was one of the many richly decorated textile furnishings used at the Indian court. It would have been suspended over the gaddi, the textile used as the rulers seat. The canopy represented divine sanction and protection, and also helped to mark out the royal space within the court. The use of a canopy to denote kingship has a very long history in India, originating in the basic need to shield the ruler from the heat of the sun but evolving into a symbolic decorative structure that was often use in interior courtly settings. |
| Bibliographic reference | Jackson, Anna and Ji Wei (eds.) with Rosemary Crill, Ainsley M. Cameron and Nicholas Barnard, compiled by the Palace Museum, translated by Yuan Hong, Qi Yue and Liu Ran. The Splendour of India' Royal Courts : Collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Beijing: the Forbidden City Publishing House, 2013. Text in English and Chinese. ISBN 9787513403917.
p. 49 |
| Other number | 2462 - India Museum Slip Book |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 9653(IS) |
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| Record created | June 25, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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