KALAMKARI

M8The craft of kalamkari, or ornamention of cloth with dyes has been around in India since the Middle Ages. The production originated in the state of Andra Pradesh and later moved to Gujarat. It produced vibrant images in a labor intensive method involving drawing, free hand painting and wood block printing. With the British rule of India, painted cloth became a precious, traded commodity
all over the world. Kalamkari became very popular in Persia and by the 19th century there was Kalamkari production in the Persian city of Isfahan, though the quality of Persian imitation was inferior. The imagery of the Kalamkari produced in India for the Persian market reflects Muslim taste with mihrabs
(prayer arches), flowers and cypress trees the dominant motifs. They were used as prayer mats, wall hangings and covers. This Kalamkari features a main field of oversized and intricate freeh fantastic flowers, each unique and freehand painted. Their large scale is accentuated by the darker, wide border on all four sides. and the borders’ design of small and dense floral design. All masterly executed with excellent registry befitting a cloth of such high quality.