Large Vintage Kalamkari Painting Wall Hanging Mounted (51” x 64.5”)
We believe this cloth hand-painted kalamkari from South India, may have been purchased in India by the Burr sisters in the 1920s or 1930s, or by our mother in India in the late 1960s.
Kalamkari originate from Andhra Pradesh where it is a temple art. Kalam means pen, kari means art. The creation of one is a 23-step process from preparing the cotton cloth and using a special bamboo pen for outlining and filing in colors. The dyes are all natural, extracted from roots, leaves and minerals.
Ours features three deities:
- On the left, the blue-skinned deity with multiple arms holding a conch and discus is Lord Vishnu, preserver of the universe.
- In the center is a four-armed goddess who appears to be trampling on a man. Some say this is an indication of her overcoming obstacles or demons. There are four four-armed goddesses in Hindu epics, the Durga the only one that is not ruled out by what she is holding in her hands and reinforced by the appearance of a deer next to her.
- On the right, with multiple heads, is likely Lord Bhrama, the creator. These three gathered together suggest a significant event from one of the Hindu epics which tell stories of creation, preservation and destruction.
Our kalamkari is nailed onto a wooden frame, which we have not removed from the wall yet. It is in decent vintage condition, with some stains that may be original, but they are not so prominent as to be noticed unless one looks closely.
For delivery beyond our local area, we would suggest allowing us to remove the wood mount, which would mean taking out possibly rusty nails, and sending it rolled in a large mailing tube.
Warning: We believe this artwork was done using natural dyes, which may run if you try to wash this. We understand it can be dry cleaned if you remove it from the mount.
H 51” x L 64.5” x D 3.4”
Disclaimer: We have tried to make sure colors shown in photos are representative of the real colors of each item. We have tried to identify all imperfections in descriptions, but we may have missed some. If you are unhappy with your purchase, let us know.