Kalamkari Hanging Depicting a Nayaka Court Scene

By Kalamkari (Pre-1500s till Present)

17th century · Cotton · Hand Painted · 79.528 in × 61.024 in · Kalamkari

Commission a hand-painted reproduction from Panchrang artists.

This is a large figural hanging from the great early-seventeenth-century group of Nayaka kalamkaris, among the most ambitious narrative textiles India produced. It depicts court life of the royal Nayaka dynasty of South India during a period when the arts held a privileged place, with an architectural setting, elaborate costumes, and a densely packed composition. The celebration of beauty and the pursuit of pleasure were central themes in Nayaka court culture, and works like this evoke the spirit of the celebrated poem Raghunathanayakabhyudayamu, which chronicles a day in the life of the Thanjavur ruler Raghunatha Nayaka, laying bare his private pastimes for public view.