Hanging
ca. 1925-1927 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This Burmese textile hanging known as a kalaga, features the adventures of a tortoise. Though it is not clear to researchers yet, the artist has drawn on either Burmese legends or the Jataka stories, which chronicle the Buddha’s former lives, for his subject. The appliqué design is worked in shaped coloured and silver-gilt textiles, sequins, with wool and silver-gilt thread stitch work on a black velvet ground.
The costumes of the figures are depicted in the stylised tradition of Burmese theatre relate to the fashions worn in the Mandalay Court of about 1880. Kalagas, which could be used as decorative wall hangings, room partitions, or hung outside the house on festive occasions, grew in popularity from the mid 19th century in Burma--particularly after 1885, when the kingdom came under British rule. This kalaga was collected by the donor's husband while he served as a medical officer in Burma with the British army in the early 20th century.
The costumes of the figures are depicted in the stylised tradition of Burmese theatre relate to the fashions worn in the Mandalay Court of about 1880. Kalagas, which could be used as decorative wall hangings, room partitions, or hung outside the house on festive occasions, grew in popularity from the mid 19th century in Burma--particularly after 1885, when the kingdom came under British rule. This kalaga was collected by the donor's husband while he served as a medical officer in Burma with the British army in the early 20th century.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Embroidered velvet, appliqued in cotton, stitched with wool, silver and silver-gilt threads, silver sequins and painted |
| Brief description | Hanging (kalaga) of embroidered velvet, appliqued in cotton, stitched with wool, silver and silver-gilt threads, possibly made in Mandalay, ca. 1925-1927. |
| Physical description | Embroidered hanging (kalaga) of black velvet with applied ornament in coloured and white cotton stitched to the velvet ground with wool, silver and silver-gilt threads, and ornamented with silver sequins. The design against the black ground appears to represent scenes from a Burmese legend or a Jataka story of the adventures of a tortoise set within a series of courtly scenes. The subject has still to be identified. The figures are dressed in the fashions worn at the Mandalay Court of ca. 1880. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by Mrs M. F. Dunn |
| Object history | Collected by the donor's husband while serving as a medical officer with the British Army in 1925-27. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | This Burmese textile hanging known as a kalaga, features the adventures of a tortoise. Though it is not clear to researchers yet, the artist has drawn on either Burmese legends or the Jataka stories, which chronicle the Buddha’s former lives, for his subject. The appliqué design is worked in shaped coloured and silver-gilt textiles, sequins, with wool and silver-gilt thread stitch work on a black velvet ground. The costumes of the figures are depicted in the stylised tradition of Burmese theatre relate to the fashions worn in the Mandalay Court of about 1880. Kalagas, which could be used as decorative wall hangings, room partitions, or hung outside the house on festive occasions, grew in popularity from the mid 19th century in Burma--particularly after 1885, when the kingdom came under British rule. This kalaga was collected by the donor's husband while he served as a medical officer in Burma with the British army in the early 20th century. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.22-1987 |
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| Record created | September 4, 2000 |
| Record URL |
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