This small cotton cover was decorated using a traditional dyeing technique called kalamkari, which evolved in southern India. In this multi-step process, each color was applied with a stylus or by using wax resists before the entire cloth was submerged in a dye bath. The motif of a turkey in the central medallion would have been considered exotic, as turkeys had first entered India in only the previous century. In his memoirs, the Mughal emperor Jahangir wrote extensively about the animals, describing them in relation to more familiar species, including pea-hens and peacocks
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
Central Medallion
Artwork Details
Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item
Title:Cover (Rumal)
Date:first half 17th century
Geography:Attributed to Western India
Medium:Cotton; plain weave, mordant dyed and painted, resist dyed
Dimensions:Textile: L. 32 5/16 in. (82.1 cm) W. 18 1/2 in. (47 cm) Mount: L. 37 1/4 in. (94.6 cm) W. 23 3/4 in. (60.3 cm) D. 1 in. (2.5 cm)
Classification:Textiles-Painted and/or Printed
Credit Line:Gift of Imre Schwaiger, 1928
Object Number:28.162.1
Cushion Cover
Mughal "painted" cottons were used primarily as furnishings for tents, decorative temporary screens, mats, floor spreads, and cushion covers like this example. Dominating the plain ground is a circular medallion with two floral pendants. The medallion and the diagonally placed corner pieces are embellished with fantastic, luxuriant, curving staves composed of flowers, fruits, and other plant life. The corner pieces bear an elegant, persianized, long-tailed bird. The medallion, however, has three species of birdlife: the long-tailed bird, a stork, and a turkey. The emperor Jahangir was fascinated by animals and birds, and he commissioned his court artists to paint many of the specimens he observed. The turkey, which appears here, is otherwise rarely depicted in Mughal miniatures and textiles although it is found in the central medallion of two textiles similar to this one: the first in the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the other in the Calico Museum in Ahmedabad. Six identical stylized trees, flanked on each side by a regardant bird, complete the decoration on the field. A lush leaf-and-rosette scroll fills the border.
Carolyn Kane in [Berlin 1981]
Imre Schwaiger, London (until 1928; gifted to MMA)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of the Art of India from The Museum's Collections," January 18–May 31, 1973, no catalogue.
"Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York." In The Arts of Islam. Berlin, 1981. no. 142, pp. 328–29, ill. (b/w).
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
The Met's collection of Islamic art is one of the most comprehensive in the world and ranges in date from the seventh to the twenty-first century. Its more than 15,000 objects reflect the great diversity and range of the cultural traditions from Spain to Indonesia.