Altar Cloth thumbnail 1
Altar Cloth thumbnail 2
Not on display

Altar Cloth

early 18th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Altar cloth of painted and dyed cotton chintz. Christ or the Eternal Father is in the centre within a multifoil niche standing on rocky ground. With his right hand he is giving benediction, and in his left holds an orb with a cross. On his right is a ciborium. On either side of the main figure is a niche similar to the one in the middle, and in the spandrels are haloed cherubim. The rest of the field is filled with stylised cypress trees against a floral background. The border is a floral meander and the narrow guard borders are repeated spot motifs on a red ground. There is a blue band round three of the four edges and selvages at the top and bottom. Across the bottom runs an inscription in Armenian.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Painted and dyed cotton chintz
Brief description
Altar cloth of painted and dyed cotton chintz, probably made in Coromandel Coast, early 18th century
Physical description
Altar cloth of painted and dyed cotton chintz. Christ or the Eternal Father is in the centre within a multifoil niche standing on rocky ground. With his right hand he is giving benediction, and in his left holds an orb with a cross. On his right is a ciborium. On either side of the main figure is a niche similar to the one in the middle, and in the spandrels are haloed cherubim. The rest of the field is filled with stylised cypress trees against a floral background. The border is a floral meander and the narrow guard borders are repeated spot motifs on a red ground. There is a blue band round three of the four edges and selvages at the top and bottom. Across the bottom runs an inscription in Armenian.
Dimensions
  • Length: 82.5in
  • Length: 210cm
  • Width: 42.5in
  • Width: 108cm
Marks and inscriptions


  • Note
    Inscribed in Armenian, in a narrow band running the length of the field

    Translation
    In memory of [the priest] Der Hohanes [John] and his parents Mikael [Michael] and Getsemani [Gethsemane] and his grandfather Hohan of Kafar, and his son Garabed the Forerunner and Bedros [Peter]

  • United East India Company

    Note
    Stamped on the back

Credit line
Given by G. P. Baker
Production
Made for an Armenian church.
Bibliographic reference
Vivek Gupta, ‘Splendour of the City: Nagarshobha’ in Roda Ahluwalia, ed. Reflections on Mughal Art & Culture, Niyogi Books/The K.R. Cama Oriental Institute, Mumbai, 2021, pp. 230-253. See fig. 6, p. 237.
Collection
Accession number
IS.115-1950

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Record createdJune 25, 2009
Record URL
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