Embroidered Palampore
- Culture
- Indian
- Associated
- for the European market
- Date
- c.1700–1750
- Material
- Cotton and silk thread
- possibly made in
- Jammu-Kashmir state, India, Asia
- possibly made in
- Gujarat state, India, Asia
- Classification
- Coverings & hangings, textiles
- Collection
- Decorative Arts and Design
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 132 1/2 x 98 in. (336.6 x 248.9 cm)
- Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 56:1922
NOTES
Thousands of miniscule chain stiches form the sinuous branches and fantastic flowers of this monumental palampore. Palampores, from a Hindi-Persian word for bedcovers, were more typically painted and dyed rather than embroidered, like this one. Large and colorful, these Indian exports for the European market overwhelmingly featured the Tree of Life motif, a cross-cultural hybrid that drew on European, Indian, Chinese, and Persian sources. The swirling red trunk of this Tree of Life grows from a craggy mound likely inspired by a Chinese scholar’s rock.
Provenance
- 1922
Arthur Upham Pope, New York, NY
1922 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Arthur Upham Pope [1]
Notes:
[1] Accession record and the Minutes of the Adminstrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, April 11, 1922. In a letter dated April 16, 1922 from Arthur Upham Pope to Mr. Sherer of the Saint Louis Art Museum, Pope says the textile was owned by an Armenian man and to "help him out of his difficulties I gave him my [Pope's] note for the price of the piece upon receiving your [SLAM's] decision." However, Pope does not give the name or location of the former owner.
Arthur Upham Pope, New York, NY
1922 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Arthur Upham Pope [1]
Notes:
[1] Accession record and the Minutes of the Adminstrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, April 11, 1922. In a letter dated April 16, 1922 from Arthur Upham Pope to Mr. Sherer of the Saint Louis Art Museum, Pope says the textile was owned by an Armenian man and to "help him out of his difficulties I gave him my [Pope's] note for the price of the piece upon receiving your [SLAM's] decision." However, Pope does not give the name or location of the former owner.
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