Important Notice

KATHIAWAR, GUJARAT, CIRCA 1930
Handspun and handwoven cotton, hand embroidered with untwisted silk thread, natural dyes, mirrors
45.5 x 71.5 in (116 x 182 cm)


Heer is the local word for silk or silk floss. Made by the Kathis from Kathiawar in Saurashtra, this vibrant and richly worked rectangular textile piece served as a hanging in the central area of the home. Its strong red colour, along with its central placement in the home, signified power.

Heer embroidery usually fills the design with threadwork using a variety of stitches from buttonhole to long and short double satin. Developed by the Jats, it is said to have been influenced by the bagh and phulkari embroideries of Punjab. Known for its geometrical motifs as evident in this heer hanging, where the centre is dominated by a grid-like pattern composed of eighteen squares. Each outlined by a line of small mirrors, the same mirrors are also used to accentuate the points of the diamonds in the squares. The border is a jagged line of triangles, repeated twice in different colours.

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