Kalamkari
Artist
Unknown
CultureIndia, Coromandel Coast, Machilipatnam
Titles
- Kalamkari
Datemid-19th century
MediumCotton; plain weave, mordant-painted and dyed, resist-dyed
DimensionsOverall: 45 11/16 × 76 9/16 in. (116 × 194.5 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Art of the Islamic Worlds Gala
Object number2025.862
Not on view
Explore Further
Department
Art of the Islamic WorldsObject Type
TR:548-2025: Antique dealer, Isfahan, Iran, 2015; [Gallery Tulip, Tokyo]; to be purchased by MFAH, 2025.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Inscriptions: TR:548-2025 carries a number of inscriptions. On the top border, painted onto the textile in cartouches, are inscriptions in Persian and what may be a trading seal (Fig. 2c). The full inscriptions are obscured by the black textile edging, a later addition.
From right to left, the inscriptions are:
i) Illegible.
ii) Illegible.
iii) ۱۱۰
مهشد
محمد
110
Mashhad
Muhammad
iv) مر س ا غلا صد
v) فرلیی علا
vi) MSK
On the bottom border, hand-written on to the textile after production, the letters ش and س (Fig. 2d). They may indicate inventory numbers, as شش means six, however, here each letter repeats once, and they are not joint to form a word.
From right to left, the inscriptions are:
i) Illegible.
ii) Illegible.
iii) ۱۱۰
مهشد
محمد
110
Mashhad
Muhammad
iv) مر س ا غلا صد
v) فرلیی علا
vi) MSK
On the bottom border, hand-written on to the textile after production, the letters ش and س (Fig. 2d). They may indicate inventory numbers, as شش means six, however, here each letter repeats once, and they are not joint to form a word.
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.
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