Important Notice

Woven by Ali Hasan (alias Kalu Hafiz)

VARANASI, UTTAR PRADESH, 1956
Handspun and handwoven untwisted silk, synthetic dyes
182.5 x 46 in (464 x 117.3 cm)


Murshidabad, once the capital of Bengal and the headquarters of the East India Company before it moved to Calcutta,was famous for its production of fine silk yarns and woven fabrics. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Baluchar was one of the most important hubs of Murshidabad's thriving silk industry and the town???s name became synonymous with a particular type of saris. Baluchari saris are renowned for their quirky and imaginative figurative designs such as men and women smoking hookahs, or riding elephants, nawabs reclining in chandeliered pavilions, or European officers sitting stiffly in straight-backed chairs. There were also images of vehicular transport such as trains and Portuguese boats with guns. While intrigued by these motifs, textile scholars and collectors have long ruminated on who commissioned these pieces and what inspired their makers.

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