Kantha (Embroidered Quilt)
Artist/maker unknown, Bengali
Geography:
Made in West Bengal, India, Asia
or Bangladesh, Asia
Made in Undivided Bengal, Asia
Date:
Late 19th or early 20th centuryMedium:
Cotton plain weave with cotton embroidery in back, darning, satin, dot, and single-sided stitchesDimensions:
6 feet 5 1/4 inches × 56 inches (196.2 × 142.2 cm)Curatorial Department:
Costume and TextilesObject Location:
2009-250-2Credit Line:
The Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Collection, 2009
Made in West Bengal, India, Asia
or Bangladesh, Asia
Made in Undivided Bengal, Asia
Date:
Late 19th or early 20th centuryMedium:
Cotton plain weave with cotton embroidery in back, darning, satin, dot, and single-sided stitchesDimensions:
6 feet 5 1/4 inches × 56 inches (196.2 × 142.2 cm)Curatorial Department:
Costume and TextilesObject Location:
Currently not on view
Accession Number:2009-250-2Credit Line:
The Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Collection, 2009
Label:
The embroiderer of this magnificently rippled and puckered quilt fully exploits the kantha's possibilities for three-dimensionality. Lines of stitches in a combination of red and indigo run parallel to the white stitching at regular intervals to create a truly topographical effect. All of the motifs, even the faces of the human figures, are done in pattern darning that liberally intersperses white with the blue or red to give them a lacelike delicacy that heightens rather than overwhelms the invigorated ground.
The embroiderer of this magnificently rippled and puckered quilt fully exploits the kantha's possibilities for three-dimensionality. Lines of stitches in a combination of red and indigo run parallel to the white stitching at regular intervals to create a truly topographical effect. All of the motifs, even the faces of the human figures, are done in pattern darning that liberally intersperses white with the blue or red to give them a lacelike delicacy that heightens rather than overwhelms the invigorated ground.
