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Brocade thumbnail 2
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Brocade

c. 1855 (made)
Place of origin
Baharampur (made)
Varanasi (made)

Four fragments of a brocaded silk lungi (man's wrapped garment). The field is green silk brocaded with silver-gilt-wrapped thread in a diagonally striped scrolling floral design; in each corner is a large buta in silver-gilt-wrapped thread, containing birds and animals. The pallu (end borders) on either end are of red silk, with a very deep (87 cm) field brocaded with gold-wrapped thread depicting flowers and men on horseback hunting wild animals, with decorative bands and side borders in red with scrolling plant designs.

Object details

Categories
Clothing
Textiles
Parasol Foundation Trust Indian Textiles Cataloguing Project
India Museum
Object type
Brocade
Materials and techniques
Silk (Textile)
Metal-Wrapped Thread
Brocaded
Brief description
Lungi (man's wrapped garment) in four fragments, red silk ends and borders with green silk field, brocaded in gold-wrapped thread with jungle pattern in ends and diagonal pattern in field, Varanasi or Baharampur, c. 1855; Textiles; Clothing
Physical description
Four fragments of a brocaded silk lungi (man's wrapped garment). The field is green silk brocaded with silver-gilt-wrapped thread in a diagonally striped scrolling floral design; in each corner is a large buta in silver-gilt-wrapped thread, containing birds and animals. The pallu (end borders) on either end are of red silk, with a very deep (87 cm) field brocaded with gold-wrapped thread depicting flowers and men on horseback hunting wild animals, with decorative bands and side borders in red with scrolling plant designs.
Dimensions
  • 0675 1 top edge width: 665mm
  • 0675 1 bottom edge width: 680mm
  • 0675 1 proper right length: 1861mm
  • 0675 1 proper left length: 1875mm
  • 0675 2 top edge width: 3406mm
  • 0675 2 bottom edge width: 3445mm
  • 0675 2 proper right length: 655mm
  • 0675 2 proper left length: 675mm
Gallery label
(03/10/2015-10/01/2016)
VARANASI BROCADE

The brocaded silks of Varanasi are highly prized. The design, materials and weave of this 19th-century sari fragment are all typical. To make it, the weaver attached a woven sample (naksha) of the pattern repeat to the warp threads on a draw-loom. He then followed the pattern as a template as he wove.

Silk (plain weave) with metal-wrapped thread brocading
Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, about 1855
V&A: 0675 (IS)
Object history
Transferred from the India Museum in 1879. 1880 Register Entry: [Case 26] '0675. SCARF. Red silk and gold. "Loongee;" Burhampore. 3641". Slip book entry 3641: 'Scarf large / Loongee Petamburg / Boorhampore / 55 / Very massive fine pattern green centre gold diagonal Stripes - Crimson & Gold Worked borders & ends. / NB. Ticket lost of this by being Sent to India Office but seems to be Correct'
Associated objects
Bibliographic references
  • Crill, Rosemary, Arts of Asia, vol. 45, no. 5, September - October 2015, "The Fabric of India" Exhibition, p.70, pl. 7.
  • Crill, Rosemary ed., The Fabric of India, London: V&A Publishing, 2015
Other number
3641 - India Museum Slip Book
Collection
South & South East Asia Collection
Accession number
0675(IS)

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Record createdJune 25, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O478499/brocade/
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