Prayer Cloth
Original Language TitleJainamaz
CultureIndian
Dateca. 1850
MediumCotton with dyes; printed and painted
DimensionsOverall: 52 3/8 × 35 13/16 inches (133 × 91 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: Nelson Gallery Foundation and by exchange of the bequest of Jeanne Harris
Object number2021.30
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionThe Jainamaz Cloth (Prayer Cloth) is a large cotton rectangular panel oriented in a vertical composition. The white cloth is decorated with block printed, painted, and hand drawn designs in blue, light blue, red, and ochre, with dark brown outlines. The imagery depicted on the cloth is that of an architectural niche, set within a wall, possibly a building facade, and flanked on each side by a cypress tree. A red, multi lobed arch frames an interior decorated by stylized sprays of poppies that curl to create a butah (paisley) shape against a ground filled with red hand drawn patterns. Two boxes with medallions are placed centrally, above the niche. These boxes sometimes contain inscriptions, but here are filled with floral and linear designs. The niche is framed with two borders of small arches and medallions of alternating blue and red color, with a dense floral pattern filling the spaces between them. The two cypress trees have multi colored striping and floral patterning, with spires extending from their tops. A row of tall, narrow spires in alternating colors and shapes extend from the top of the niche to the top border of the textile. Reversed text in Persian script bleeds through to the front at the top edge of the textile. This may be the export or tax stamp, underscoring its function as an export cloth. The Jainamaz Cloth is backed with two fabrics, a light ground cloth with meandering blue flowers with green leaves and stems, and a solid blue border. These are machine made, and are likely British made cloth from Manchester or another production site.
This type of textile is known summer prayer cloth. The central arch frames a mihrab, an empty niche found on the wall that faces Mecca in a mosque. This textile could be used as a hanging as a focus of prayer, but its size suggests that it could also be used like a prayer carpet, to provide a clean place for kneeling and the practice of prayer
Exhibition History
No exhibition history known at this time.
Private collection, England, until 2020;
Purchased from a Yorkshire, England auction by Michael Backman Ltd, London, January 2020–2021;
Purchased from Michael Backman Ltd, London, by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2021.
No published references known at this time.
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