DECCAN OR GUJARAT, INDIA, 19TH CENTURY

A panel which was formerly part of the Benguiat Collection has many similarities with the present textile, such as the yellow silk field and the fact that it is woven on three panels, along with a similarly-structured fringe. That example was attributed to the 16th/17th century. It appeared as lot 569 in the 1905 sale of the collection, and is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (acc.no. 05.25.2). Differences in the design, however, suggest that ours may be later in date. Our example also lacks the metal-thread embroidery present on the Benguiat example. The chain-stitch embroidery, in addition, is evocative of 19th century embroidery from Gujarat. The inherent mobility of textiles, probably the most traded item in the early modern world beside grain, as well as their makers meant that designs travelled quickly and could establish themselves across the subcontinent and beyond.