INDIA, GUJARAT, FOR THE SOUTHEAST ASIAN MARKET, MID-LATE 19TH CENTURY

Asian trade during the medieval period leading up to Mughal era was dominated by Muslim merchants, particularly Arabs and Gujaratis. They travelled to Southeast Asia to trade for the region’s spices and forest products, especially the pepper of Sumatra and Java, as well as the cloves, nutmeg and mace of eastern Indonesia, all of which were in high demand both in India and the West. Central to this commerce was the exchange of Indian textiles. Gujarat, Bengal and the Coromandel coast were the key regions that supplied this trade, contributing their cottons, silks and muslins. A notable example is a ceremonial garment at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (acc. no. IS.5-1989). Highly prized in Javanese court circles, the large ceremonial cloths feature a “patchwork” (tambal) design and geometric patterns recognisable as patola. Patola designs are labour intensive, requiring the double ikat process, and are therefore regarded as highly prestigious. The V&A example falls into this category and was intended for the use of the Indonesian elite. There, such textiles were used as hangings and canopies in rituals and ceremonies and were preserved as precious heirlooms. (Guy, J. & D. Swallow (eds). Arts of India: 1550-1900. London : Victoria and Albert Museum, 1990, pp. 25-27.)
The present lot follows the same style but is less labour-intensive, as the execution is block printed rather than woven. Nonetheless, the design closely resembles patola, featuring elephants, horses and fantastic beasts, motifs favoured by Southeast Asian tastes. The four major horizontal registers are alternated by thin bands of hunting motifs, including cheetahs chasing deer. The border is adorned with classic geometric patterns, framing the dynamic prints with a sense of formality and stillness.
This lot bears a striking resemblance to a piece from a group of 14^th-15^th-century Gujarati textile fragments sold at Christie’s New York on 28 September 2017, lot 617, altogether for $23,750. The remarkable similarity in motifs suggets that the present ceremonial cloth might also be a product of retrospective nostalgia.