Bed Cover or Hanging (Palampore)

CultureIndian

Date1700-1750

MediumCotton, mordant-dyed and resist-dyed

DimensionsOverall: 51 1/2 × 84 3/8 inches (130.81 × 214.31 cm)
Mount: 53 1/8 × 86 1/4 × 1 1/8 inches (134.94 × 219.08 × 2.86 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: acquired through the generosity of the Foyer Foundation

Object number2022.2

On View

Not on view

Collections

South and Southeast Asian Art

Terms

DescriptionThis large rectangular horizontal-format cloth panel is a section representing the lower half of a large textile known as a palampore. Palampores are made in India, and are intended to be used as a hanging or bed cover. Made from handspun and handloomed cotton and local dyes, these textiles were popular luxury items in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. This example incorporates a large central palmette motif surrounded by curling foliage. The lower corners each contain a medallion filled with scrolling vines and red flowers. The top center of the panel depicts a triangular shape created by arcing blue and red lines. The dominate colors in the design are red, dark blue, light blue, orange, golden brown, and bluish green. The textile includes a small patch on the lower left side, made with fabric likely
The panel is sewn down to a mount of blue fabric, wrapped over contemporary-looking a metal-ribbed stretcher.Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Textile Splendours of the East, Francesca Galloway, London, June 24-July 26, 2019, no 20 as Large panel from a bedcover or hanging (palampore).

Provenance

Private collection, London, 1990s-2018; [1]

With Francesca Galloway, London, by 2018.

Purchased from Galloway by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2022.

[1] According to the gallery, the collector may have acquired at a UK flea market. This textile was made as an Indian export for the European market.

Published References

Francesca Galloway, Textile Splendours of the East (London: Francesca Galloway, 2019), unpaginated, (repro.).

Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.