Minneapolis Institute of Art

Textile panel

India

Date

18th century

Medium

Painted, mordant dyed, and resist dyed plain weave cotton

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

This textile was made in Southern India by traditional artisans skilled in the production colorful cotton cloth, or chintz. Its intricate design resulted from a laborious process of hand-drawing, block printing, and vat dyeing that took weeks to complete. Soon after their involvement in Indian Ocean networks, European traders observed a demand for chintz among elite buyers back home, and responded by suggesting designs to Indian manufacturers so that their goods kept step with European textile trends. The pattern on this chintz mimics silk designs popular throughout Western Europe in the early eighteenth century, but the rare presence of an English East India Company trade stamp on the back tells us the panel was destined specifically for English markets. Asia

The authoritative record is held by Minneapolis Institute of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.