Costume and Textiles Kantha (Embroidered Quilt) Made in Faridpur District, Bangladesh, Asiaor West Bengal, India, Asia 1875 Artist/maker unknown, Bengali or India Plain weave cotton with cotton embroidery in back, buttonhole, darning, satin, split, running, eye, and dot stitches Currently not on view 1968-184-8 Gift of Stella Kramrisch, 1968 |
LabelThe stitched Bengali-era date equivalent to 1875 makes this the earliest dated kantha known. Scenes from the epic Ramayana intertwine with episodes from the story of the Bengali snake goddess Manasa. Denied worship by the wealthy landholder Chand Sadagar, Manasa kills each of his sons on their wedding nights. When his final son, Lakinder, marries, Chand Sadagar builds a house of iron to protect him, but Manasa's snakes wiggle though a hole in the wall (bottom right). Lakinder's valiant widow Behula takes her husband's body on a river odyssey to visit the god Shiva who resurrects Lakinder and his brothers. Manasa is embodied as a snake-flanked water pot (lower left) while the cross-legged man on a dais (top center) may be Chand Sadagar. |
