loading
reading
writing
saving
searching
Antique Beaded Artwork Wall Hanging ~ Deity, Cows, Birds, Etc. - $175 (Asheville)
QR Code Link to This Post
This wonderfully worked beaded piece was beaded as a 'weaving' and then backed with cotton and then hand stitched down in the back by many small stitches so that the weight of the beads can be better supported to enable this piece to be hung, if desired, by the five attached loops. The entire beadwork is 'framed' with a band of colorful cotton, gauze and satiny fabric using an 'appliqué' technique of a 'rhombus/lozenge' type of design.
It has many items represented. The red colored beaded deity in the center represents a deity (perhaps Ganesh, the elephant deity?). There are two cows, two peacocks, 4 smaller birds, and colorful strips of cloth design surrounding the entire woven beaded artwork.
There are also three metal roundels (decorative medallions) with mirrors inside. These roundels of themselves are delicately decorated. The metal and mirror bits are attached only in three places each with cotton thread. These can be easily removed if you feel you might want to paint the metal part, or fix or replace a mirror, or if you'd prefer not to have them on. The dimensions of the entire piece are It is 20 inches wide and 27 inches tall.
I've been traveling to and spending a lot of time in India since 1977. This was a piece I collected in those decades. There are collections of this type of art work at the British Museum. I in fact saw one that they have in their collections with a very similar deity figure. The Textile Museum of Canada also has some of these types of pieces of art. According to some, this type of beadwork was only done in a very few small villages in the Indian State of Saurasthra and ended well over 50 years ago, perhaps around 1940. It is in amazingly good condition and has been well maintained.
Materials are glass beads, cotton, gauze, cotton twine, metal, 'mirrors'.
From an always smoke-free and pet-free home.