A Kalamkari Cloth

Today we share a Kalamkari cloth owned by Camilla Hale. Camilla says:

This is a kalamkari cloth, designed, drawn and dyed by the kalamkari artists from Sri Kalahasti, southern India, who came to the museum in the park in September 2010.

There are only three colours, black, red and khaki all drawn and coloured with a bamboo pen.

It tells the story of the abduction of Sita by the ten headed lord of Lanka (now Sri Lanka) and her rescue.

The little close up shows the monkey lord Hanuman winding up his tail and sitting on it to show that he too is a king and can be face to face with any enemy however important that enemy thinks he is.

The language written is Telegu, a South Indian Dravidian language.

The traditional uses for these Kalamkaris were as teaching cloths in the temples to show in a graphic way the great stories and teachings of Hinduism.

The full piece is 2m X 1.20m consisting of 27 smaller panels, one large central panel and a border. Only a small detail is shown here.