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CHAMBA RUMAL WITH FLORAL
PATTERN
CHAMBA, HIMACHAL PRADESH, CIRCA 1930
Handspun and handwoven cotton, hand
embroidered with untwisted silk thread,
double- sided, natural dyes
25.5 x 26.25 in (65 x 67 cm)
$ 1,520 - 3,035
Rs 1,00,000 - 2,00,000
This asymmetrically patterned, five colour
rumal
is a
fine example of traditional embroidery with a classic
floral motif. At the centre is a yellow circle, symbolising
the sun, surrounded by a ring of flowers and leaves.
Made in the double-sided
dorukha
technique, each of
the flowers and leaves are outlined in black stem stitch.
Floral motifs were common in Chamba embroidery.
With little fixed iconography to work from, the
women were free to embroider as they pleased, and
took design elements from the landscape around
them. Flowers symbolised abundance and prosperity.
Rumals
devoid of figural motifs, such as the present
lot, were probably made in keeping with Islamic
precepts of non-iconic art.
CHAMBA EMBROIDERY
The exquisite workmanship and vivid colours of
Chamba embroidery are enchanting. Widely known
for the delicate rendering of flowers and leaves, sacred
imagery, scenes of village life or a wedding ceremony,
this embroidery tradition appears to be quite
distinctive, without many parallels in India. Perhaps
the
kantha
embroidery of Bengal, also pictorial in
nature, had some similarity but the rendering of the
work differed.
The Chamba tradition appears to be an old one,
although the oldest known examples date to the 18
th
century. At one time, this embroidered art was widely
practised in the princely states of Chamba, Basohli,
Kangra, Kulu, Mandi and adjacent areas in present
day Himachal Pradesh. It came to be associated with
Chamba because of the continued patronage by its
rulers; it was particularly the style and colours of the
rumal
, that were influenced by the miniature painting
traditions of Chamba.
Women embroidered in their free time, with young
girls learning from their mothers. Irrespective of caste
and creed, all women in the villages embroidered.
They embroidered
rumals
(square or rectangular
cloths),
cholis
(bodices),
gaumukhi
(prayer gloves),
chandani
(canopies),
dhvajas
(flags), coverlets, book
covers, dice boards, caps and hand fans. It is the
rumals
, however, that are the best known works of
this tradition. The women worked on handspun and
handwoven fine muslin. The pattern is first drawn on
the surface with fine charcoal, and the lines are then
filled in with black silk threads in simple stem stitch. A
large part of the embroidery was executed in double
satin stitch, allowing them to achieve a glossy and
smooth effect on both sides. Other stitches used were
double running stitch, long and short stitches. The
overall effect was a double-sided reversible textile,
widely known in India as
dorukha
.
Remarkably graceful on both sides, and with an artistic
and lyrical bent, these embroideries weremuch sought
after by public institutions and private collectors.
They embodied the rich artistic and cultural heritage
of the region, that was known as much for its textiles
as its fine miniature painting.