Matthew Thomas
Senior Specialist
Lot 117
A silk lampas panel Assam, 18th Century
6 October 2015, 14:00 BST
London, New Bond Street£2,000 - £3,000
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A silk lampas panel
Assam, 18th Century
Assam, 18th Century
woven silk, rendered in yellow, white and black on red ground, with multiple registers of yellow and white flowers alternating with rows depicting elephants and mythical yali figures
68 x 170 cm.
68 x 170 cm.
Footnotes
This silk lampas belongs to a rare group of Vaishnavite ritual cloths woven in Assam. According to tradition, these cloths were used to wrap the holy Bhagavata Purana scripture which was kept on top of a multi-tiered throne, with the excess length flowing down the steps of the throne. For an in-depth discussion on the subject, see R. Crill, 'Vrandavani Vastra - Figured Silks from Assam', Hali, vol. 62, April 1992. More recently, the British Museum have exhibited and published their large hanging from the Younghusband Expedition (inv. 1905-1-18-4). This nine metre hanging consists of twelve silk lampas panels from Assam, some dating to the 17th Century.