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Description

Woman’s rectangular, embroidered shawl (headcloth). Made of brown, coarsely-woven cotton textile, embroidered over-all with brightly coloured, regularly spaced, squares that are arranged in 6 vertical rows of 12 each. The squares have stylized floral and leaf shapes in them, differing slightly in their predominance of 4 colours: orange, bright pink, light green and white; worked with a surface or “false” satin stitch. Border design of triangles at the ends, and borders of leaf motifs on the sides, which are finished with blanket stitch. The piece is constructed from three sections which were sewn together before the embroidery was worked.

Iconographic Meaning

Bharme phullan (flowers) da bagh (garden) phulkari. Phulkari means “flower work” and is the name given to a regional embroidery style practiced throughout the Punjab, both in India and in Pakistan, as well as in neighbouring regions. The main body features a grid of flower motifs. The leftmost column of boxes alternates between magenta-gold flower boxes with green-gold wheat (kanak) motif boxes.

Specific Techniques

Techniques: surface or “false” satin stitch; cross stitch; blanket stitch. The stitches are worked from either the reverse side or from the front side, in surface or “false” satin stitch, and the design is visible only from the front. The pattern is formed by counting the threads and picking up a single thread, leaving a long “float” of thread on the front.

History Of Use

Worn or used by rural women in Hindu, Sikh and Muslim communities, often as a head covering. Phulkari shawls have mostly gone out of fashion, due to changes in the social structure brought about by Westernization.