Embroidered Shekhawati Shawl

Shekhawati, a region located in the northeast part of Rajasthan, India is home to the Jat community who produce very distinct and recognizable cotton tie-dyed shawls.  This embroidered Shekhawati shawl is made to look like the traditional tie-dyed Bandhani work similar to our Shekhawati Tie Dye shawl.  As the tie-dye technique is very time consuming, shortcuts were adopted to create quicker alternatives.  Instead of dyeing the fabric in relief, this shawl consists of embroidered circles to resemble the dyeing technique.  In comparing these two methods, it is the embroidery, that is often seen as time consuming, that was the quicker alternative to the tie-dyed technique.  A similar shortcut can be seen in Kashmir shawls where the finest quality are woven, when the shortcut is to embroider it.

This piece has a brown ground with a large circle in the center with a star shape and multiple smaller circles contained within it. In the center of the piece there are five squares that are outlined in small white circles. Most of the embroidery is done in small yellow and green circles and outlined in white circles of equal size. Outside of the main circle there are zig-zags and triangles that are also embroidered in green and yellow. Along the parameter of the circle there are a few abstracted animal designs in white.