Kalamkari rumal: Romance and revelry on a kerchief

Kalamkari is a textile tradition from southern India where cotton fabrics are hand-painted with pictorial narratives using a bamboo pen known as kalam. While the exact point of origin for kalamkari remains unknown, the oldest surviving samples of this craft are dated from the 15th and 16th centuries, when Machilipatnam, along the Coromandel coast in present-day Andhra Pradesh, emerged as a major hub of kalamkari production and trade.

The process of making kalamkari consists of 23 steps, including treating the fabric by bleaching it and then softening it, sun-drying, preparing natural dyes, hand-painting, air drying, washing and finishing. Some of the earliest examples of kalamkari depict religious and mythological themes, for use in Hindu temples and monasteries. However, by the early modern period, secular narratives became popular for trade and courtly use.

This 17th-century kalamkari rumal or kerchief (see pic) is attributed to Jai Singh I of Amber, Rajasthan, who served in the Deccan as the Mirza Raja or senior general of the Mughal empire. Made in the fortified city of Golconda, in present-day Hyderabad, it belongs to a set of three, whose markings indicate they were part of the royal Amber storehouse. Rumals such as these may have been used as furnishings, coverings for trays bearing gifts or simply as decorative fabrics for personal use or collection.

Kalamkari artisans in the Coromandel were not a part of karkhanas or royal ateliers, but their visual repertoire borrowed from the miniatures of Deccan and Mughal courts. In this intricate rumal, scenes of dance, drink and desire capture the essence of courtly life. Lush flowering plants, deer, cheetahs, leopards, insects and a variety of birds surround celebratory vignettes. Towards the centre stand a pair of lovers in embrace, with beasts of prey feasting on a carcass nearby. A total of eleven figures are depicted, some with glasses of wine in their hands and others in repose, sometimes flanked by attendants offering food and pouring drinks from decorated jars, surrounded by butterflies and blooms. Bedecked in jewels and luxurious clothes, these courtly figures revel in the fantastical landscape of the natural world.

Its floral border borrows from the hashiyas, or ornate edges, of Mughal miniatures and architectural inlay work, while the figures are etched in the traditional Deccani style. Vegetal and geometric patterning on the jamas, coats, skirts and patkas worn by the figures provides a window into the sheer diversity of textile production in early modern South Asia.

Variegated turban styles indicate various courtly traditions — Mughal, Bijapur, Golconda, Rajput — inhabiting a dynamic landscape of socioeconomic and political change. With fluttering butterflies and birds perching on branches or on the arms of revellers, the vitality of nature complements the luxury and hedonism of courtly life in early modern India. And the canvas of earthy tones — the distinct reds and blues — is a reminder of the unbroken textile tradition of the multi-step resist-dyeing method, which is used to make kalamkari textiles to this day.

Discover Indian Art is a monthly column that delves into fascinating stories on art from across the subcontinent, curated by the editors of the MAP Academy. Find them on Instagram as @map_academy