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Palampore

India (Coromandel Coast), for the European market

Not on view

This pristine Indian palampore may have been a wedding gift for the wealthy Albany merchant Philip Van Rensselaer (1747–1798) and Maria Sanders (1749–1830) when they married in 1768. The palampore’s imagery seems to present a nuptial theme—all of the animals and even the human figures are paired off two by two. Likely intended for the Dutch market, it probably came to heavily Dutch-populated Albany via Amsterdam. The two unusual toothy crowned lions at bottom right have been copied from the pair of smiling lions found on the silver ducaton coin minted in the Netherlands for use by the Dutch East India Company in Asia.

Cotton (painted resist and mordant, dyed) with overpainting, India (Coromandel Coast), for the European market

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Cotton (painted resist and mordant, dyed) with overpainting, India (Coromandel Coast), for the European market
Cotton (painted resist and mordant, dyed) with overpainting, India (Coromandel Coast), for the European market

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