A Square of Indian Woodblock Printed Cotton #1: Barmer, Rajasthan

contemporary
41" x 39 1/2", 104 cm x 100.25 cm

This is a slightly off-square piece of beautifully hand dyed, block printed cotton from Barmer, Rajasthan in India.  Rajasthan is a desert state where there is, and was, countless centers of production of very specific types of block printed cloth.  As is well-known, Rajasthan is a rich center of traditional craft, both textile and other.

This powerloomed cotton cloth is of good weight and quality and its four edges are finished with machine stitching.

The complex, interlocking pattern is just beautiful, both for its pattern and its color, and for the very clean, precise block printing which creates the repeated design.

The pattern is a field of blue over which is set a network of diamonds which contain floral designs, roundels and "mangoes" or paisleys, all symmetrically arranged and wonderfully realized.

A very, very handsome piece of contemporary hand blocked Indian cotton.