RARE Silk Embroidered Phulkari Bagh Shawl Tapestry A-51

 A-51 PLEASE SEE DETAILS IN BOLD AT BOTTOM OF DESCRIPTION

The photos do not do this beautiful textile justice.  The colors are almost neon-like and hypnotic.  Colors include orange, green, pink, white and brown.  It measures approximately 110" long and 52" wide.  An excellent example of East Indian textiles from the past.  If you have any questions about this piece, please feel free to contact me and I will be happy to answer them.  I have more photos that are available upon request.

Most Phulkaris and Baghs were made before World War I and none were made after World War II. Those that are available today are from 80 to 100 years old and very rare.  I obtained my collection on my travels through India many years ago and I hand picked each one.

A Phulkari, or Bagh, was the traditional dowry shawl made by the former nomadic tribes people who lived in the far northwestern area of India.

The future daughter-in-law started work on the shawl when she was about 10 or 11 years of age and finished it before she was formally betrothed at about the age of puberty, 12 or 14 years old. The shawl was a proof of her skill and her potential as a good wife. It was presented to her future mother-in-law at her formal betrothal. If it was accepted, the girl was betrothed. If it was rejected, the proposed marriage was cancelled.

The girl would start by first making a large, hand-woven background cloth of cotton. Since the people were nomadic, the looms were small, portable ones and therefore the cloth was only from 10" to 18" in width and from 66" to 72" in length. To make the background cloth, the girl would weave 3 or 4 pieces of cloth and then sew them together to make one large cloth. This background cloth was then dyed with earth dyes. Depending on the locality in which the tribe lived, the color ranged from deep red madder to gray cocoa brown to yellow ochre.

Once the basic background cloth was finished, it would be covered with very fine embroidery down with silk threads of various colors. The embroidered patterns were almost always done in abstract, geometric designs. There are a very few rare exceptions where people are represented in abstract, geometric shapes. One person always does the embroidery; the young girl, the future daughter-in-law and no two Phulkaris are identical in design.

If the background cloth is almost completely covered with the silk embroidery and can barely be seen, the shawl is called a Bagh. Bagh means, "tiger skin" in Hindi and the shawl is so named since the sheen of the silk embroidery is said to have the same glowing quality of a tiger's coat.

If the background cloth shows through the embroidered patterns, the shawl is called by its ordinary name of Phulkari.

There are some rare cases where the two types of applications are combined to produce a Phulkari-Bagh.

Often in the designs, there is either a purposeful "mistake" or change of color in a small area of a design. The reason for this is the belief that only things made by the Creator are perfect and things made by humans should acknowledge this by making a "mistake" purposely.

After the end of World War I, the nomadic tribes people of India were "domesticated" and confined to specific areas. At the same time, the introduction of cheap, machine-woven cotton cloth discouraged the arduous task of hand-weaving cloth. Since only the hand-woven cloth can be used as the background cloth for making the Phulkaris because the machine-woven cloth is too dense for doing the very fine hand embroidery work, the making of the Phulkaris and Baghs quickly died out.

PAYMENT ACCEPTED:

PayPal: If paying by PayPal, the item will not ship until PayPal has released your payment.  Once payment has been released, the item will ship within 2 business days. I only ship to PayPal confirmed addresses so please make sure that your address is current with PayPal.

SHIPPING:

Shipping is FREE and in the USA only.  Item will ship within 2 business days of cleared payment via USPS Priority Mail with signature delivery confirmation and insurance.  A signature is required upon delivery.  Item should arrive within 3-5 business days of ship date.  Item is witnessed upon packing and upon delivery to post office.  PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT SOMEONE IS AVAILABLE TO SIGN FOR THE BOX AND THAT ANY DAMAGE TO THE BOX IS NOTED AT THAT TIME AND REPORTED TO THE POSTAL WORKER FOR INSURANCE PURPOSES.

RETURN POLICY:

We strive for 100% buyer satisfaction and we want you to be happy with your purchase.  If for any reason you are not happy, please contact me and arrange for return. You will be given a full refund of purchase price.  Returns will be accepted within 7 days of delivery date.  Buyer is responsible for return shipping cost.