Hanging

Hand embroidered door hanging (toran) made to hang over the doorway of a village house. Door hangings like these in the shape of an arch are known as "bari". Ganesha, with his mouse (krauncha) at his feet, is in the center of the arch flanked by Lakshmi. There are flowers, birds and other animals throughout some of which have mirrors (abhla or shisha) or sequins (tikka) sewn into the design. The outer border is made up of flowers while the inner border is made up of chili peppers. Embroidered inscriptions appear at the lower left and right of Ganesha. The piece has layers of cotton in multiple colors applied to the top and side edges, which is bound with blue cotton and finished with rickrack trim. There is flounce of pleated cotton in multiple colors attached to lower edge. It is backed with multiple pieces of undyed cotton which are sewn together. The cotton is in plain weave.