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A Step into the Kantha World
A first tentative step into the new world of old Kantha textiles. Or should I say Old World?
Here is a small section of one with a scene, that I have yet to comprehend. Any clues would be appreciated.
The figures are clear but the cultural story is not known to me.
I hope the answers become clear …. if you have any clues about the scene depicted here please help!
Another section of the same Kantha:
In someone else’s notes I read that this group represents the Raas Leela – the dance performed by Gopis in their enchantment with Krishna.
Quite likely since Bengal has a rich Vaishnavite tradition as well, in which avatars of Vishnu – Ram & Krishna – are worshipped. [Goddess Durga is the most worshipped in Bengal].
More images of this and other kanthas may be found on the Wovensouls Art Gallery linked here.
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jm
Dec 2020
4 comments on “A Step into the Kantha World”
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The picture in the Kantha you are asking about looks to me to be of the old 3-storied Dhamrai Jagannath Roth in Bangladesh. Sadly it was burned in1971 by the Pakistani army. A replacement has been built but the orgininal Jagannath said to be about 400 years old was magnificent.
Thank you very much Nancy for this insight! This is extremely useful! Am so grateful to the internet that crowd-contributed learning is now possible efficiently. Am really grateful you took the time to share your knowledge!
Jaina
How wonderful it must be for the people to live amongst such pieces day in and day out.
Thank you for introducing me to this amazing world of colors & cultures. We saw this kind of work with our relatives but did not pay attention in those days.