Cotton textile fragment, printed and mordant- and resist-dyed, possibly made in Gujarat or Coromandel Coast. 15th-16th century.
Victoria & Albert Museum.
Cotton textile fragment, printed and mordant- and resist-dyed, possibly made in Gujarat or Coromandel Coast. 15th century.
Victoria & Albert Museum
Part of palampore (bed cover) of mordant- and resist-dyed cotton chintz, with flowering tree growing upon exposed roots from a mound. Early 18th century.
Victoria & Albert Museum.
The Flowery Cosmos
In these first early works, the iterative patterning within the petals is evidence of the block printed nature of the textile fragment, though the colors may have been applied by hand. Like ornate henna patterns, the meticulously crafted repeat leaves little negative space for the eye to rest, and instead points to a dynamic, flowering worldview that is never static. Here, it could be argued, the cosmic macro collides with the detailed, floral micro in a tribute to the visual structure and symmetry of nature. The indigo and alizarin dyes are applied in a complex process involving mordants and resists that result in a brilliant and vivid image, which has—admittedly—faded and weathered over time.