Important Notice

PUNJAB, CIRCA 1930
Handspun and handwoven cotton, hand embroidered with untwisted silk thread, natural dyes
50.25 x 94.25 in (128 x 240 cm)


The finely embroidered all-over patterned Chanderma Bagh or the 'Moon Garden' is a specialty of West Punjab. White diamonds are enclosed by a neatly divided lattice arrangement.The principles that go into the aesthetics of a bagh are at work here: the subtle manipulation of light by the silk threads as well as the variations in the direction of the stitches. The white produces a luminous glow in various shades of grey, ivory and offwhite as the light plays upon it. The stitches are placed diagonally and vertically to produce a rich textured effect. The result is a cloth that transcends what cotton or silk alone can do and takes on a glossy and voluptuous quality. The textile has a brilliant effect, imitating the sheen of the moon's surface. Across this expanse of white the embroiderer has deliberately "scarred" the surface with a black section. This is a nazar buti, or an imperfection that guards perfect happiness by warding off the evil eye.

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