120-121 / 168
118
119
68
SAINCHI WITH
CARAVAN OF CAMELS
AND HORSES
BHATINDA, PUNJAB, CIRCA 1930
Handspun and handwoven cotton,
hand embroidered with untwisted
silk thread, natural dyes
54.5 x 83.25 in (139 x 212 cm)
$ 6,065 - 9,095
Rs 4,00,000 - 6,00,000
The train reappears in the present
lot, in addition to a central lotus
motif, and a caravan of camels and
horses. The early 20
th
century saw
an increase in rail travel in India,
and a growing fascination with
the image in art forms. Shown
alongside animals traditionally
used for transport, it depicted a
transition to vehicular forms of
transport. It may also have had
inferences to a more nomadic
way of life followed by traders as
they went from village to village
with their wares.
67
SAINCHI WITH TRAINS
AND VILLAGE LIFE
EAST PUNJAB (NOW
HARYANA), CIRCA 1930
Handspun and handwoven
cotton, hand embroidered with
untwisted silk thread, natural
dyes
49 x 95 in (125 x 242 cm)
$ 6,065 - 9,095
Rs 4,00,000 - 6,00,000
Sainchi
are elaborate pictorial embroideries created by women in Haryana
that mirror their life and beliefs, their hopes and desires. Scenes of rural life
enrich the composition. In the present lot, the central motif is of the circular
lotus that symbolises Surya – the cosmic power. Four figures play the dice
game
Choupat,
connecting it to the
Mahabharata
. Two long stylised
trains run along the length of both edges with eleven compartments, each
occupied by a standing figure. Between them are common characters from
village life – a woman carrying water, a man riding a horse and a boy flying
a kite. Around them are figures of peacocks, a pair of lions, an elephant, a
camel and a goat. A lone purple snake alludes to a woman’s sensual desires;
it is the same colour as the smoke emitting from the fiery engines of the
trains that is perhaps carrying her lover away. This lot also depicts two men
wrestling – a sport performed during festive occasions, where women
yearned for their strong and firm bodies. Above them is a secret labyrinth,
perhaps a place where secret rites were practised and celebrated.