Textile Panel

Large, square panel which could be a hanging, a floor covering, or a cover for a piece of furniture such as a bed. Block-printed and mordant-dyed plain-weave cotton. The cotton fabric is soaked in a myrobalan (plant-derived) solution before it is printed and dyed, giving it an ochre color. This panel was likely made on the southeastern coast of India for the Persian market, where such printed textiles were popular home furnishings in the nineteenth century. The central design of the tree filled with parakeets is related to Mughal adaptations of the so-called ‘flowering tree’ motif with roots in early Iranian art. The motif enjoyed a long tradition in India, both domestically and as a popular subject for export markets. The ornamental acanthus base from which the tree springs shows a connection to European prints of floral bouquets and follows a compositional scheme likely derived originally from Chinese porcelain in which trees emerged from rocky mounds. The complex mix of roosters, squirrels, deer, the mythical Chinese qilin, bamboo, and imaginary fauna also attest to the diverse influences of the many export markets dyers in Andhra Pradesh had responded to creatively since at least the seventeenth century.