66-67 / 168
64
65
31
FIVECOLOURED
PANCHRANGA
LEHARIYA BAGH
PUNJAB, CIRCA 1930
Handspun and handwoven
cotton, hand embroidered with
untwisted silk thread, natural
dyes
47.25 x 95.5 in (120 x 243 cm)
$ 3,035 - 4,550
Rs 2,00,000 - 3,00,000
The number of colours used in a
bagh
determined nomenclature.
Deviranga signified the use of
two colours, while
panchranga
,
satranga
and
navranga
indicated
the use of five, seven and nine
colours respectively. The colours
symbolised emotions and desires,
white for purity and peace, yellow
for happiness and fertility, red for
prosperity and green for nature.
This
panchranga
bagh
finely
embroidered in pink, green,
white, orange and purple silk
threads has a wave pattern that
references water.
32
BAGH WITH
ARCHITECTURAL
DESIGN
PUNJAB, CIRCA 1930
Handspun and handwoven
cotton, embroidered with
untwisted silk thread, natural
dyes
51.75 x 83.25 in (132 x 212 cm)
$ 2,275 - 3,790
Rs 1,50,000 - 2,50,000
Water was a popular motif
embroidered by women in the
Punjab, as seen in lots 31 and
32. Often depicted as a wave
(
leharia
) design, its association
with life-giving properties made
it an important motif in women’s
embroidery repertoire.
The three vertical bands in the
centre of the
bagh
shown here
probably allude to a canal of
water, important for irrigation.
The large stylised wave pattern is
a more pronounced reference to
the movement of water.