DECCAN OR GUJARAT, INDIA, 19TH CENTURY

Fine couched silk embroideries with elaborate floral designs have been attributed to various centres, especially Gujarat and the Deccan. It is believed that they were modelled on the embroidered liturgical garments which arrived in India with Portuguese traders (Rahul Jain, Rapture: The Art of Indian Textiles, New Delhi, 2011, p.160). From the 18^th century large quantities of these embroidered silk coverlets and spreads were produced for export to Europe, especially Portugal and, later, Britain. The present panel was most likely produced for export. The spacious and ordered drawing on our panel feels closer to Mughal and Gujarati textile production, rather than the more spontaneous drawing found in Deccani textiles. A similar embroidered panel attributed to Mughal India circa 1800 from the collection of John Robert Alderman and the Late Dr. Mark Zebrowski was sold at Christie’s, South Kensington, 2016, lot 441.