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Vintage Burmese Kalaga Tapestry Pillow Cover Warrior and Horses, 1950s

About the Item

Vintage 1950s Burmese Kalaga Tapestry pillow warrior and horses. Elaborately detailed vintage Burmese Kalaga tapestry made into a pillow cover, add an insert to use it as a pillow or hang it as a wall tapestry. Handcrafted, one of a kind, artisan hand embroidered made with quilted fabric generously adorned with gold metallic threads, sequins, and beads, each Kalaga is one of a kind and the design is telling a story. Dimensions: overall 38.25 H x 28.5" W x 1" H. Good condition with minor wear & beading loss. An original Burmese Kalaga Tapestry that has been carefully transformed into a pillow backed with velvet brown fabric. Kalaga Tapesteries are very intricate in their beadwork and glass stones. Multiple fabrics, silk, linen, cotton, velvet and others are carefully combined with the stones, beading and threads to create a unique story on cloth, the scenes usually portray stories from ancient Sanskrit legends, the ten lives of Buddha and mythological events narrated in the old Hindu epic poem of Ramayana. The word KALAGA relates to an oriental textile item defined as tapestries and used as wall decorations. Kalaga means “curtain” in the Burmese language; it identifies heavily embroidered appliqué tapestry sewn with a technique called shwe gyi do. Originally used to decorate luxurious royal palaces, Kalagas first appeared in the Royal Court of Mandalay with decorative designs closely resembling wall paintings of pagodas and sumptuous buildings of the time. Quickly gaining popularity, this particular tapestry was also used to create room screens, curtains and funeral drapes. Kalagas are generally linen, silk, cotton and/or velvet background fabrics embellished with sequins, embroidery, beads, colored stones, tiny pearls, coral, braids and metal threads. From a technical point of view, kalagas’ typical elaborate scenes are obtained employing a unique weaving process in which the base fabric is laid out on a loom. Then, cotton padding is added to the support to allow depth to the characters. Depending on the design complexity, the size of the tapestry and the client’s budget, the fabrics are embellished with decorative elements such as sequins, pearls, metallic threads. The scenes usually portray stories from ancient Sanskrit legends, the ten lives of Buddha and mythological events narrated in the old Hindu epic poem of Ramayana. In addition, Buddha representations vary in style and take on distinctive characteristics depending on the region of Burma in which they are found; for example, the Mandalay area style (developed at the end of the 19th century) is defined by the presence of an ovoid Buddha with realistic features such as the natural curvature of the eyebrows, smaller ears and draped robes. The Kalagas, like the decorations in the impressive Burmese temples, are flooded with colorful and shiny details, translated into textile art through the embroidery artifices with metallic threads and applications.

Dimensions:

Height: 38.25 in (97.16 cm)Width: 28.5 in (72.39 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)

Style:

Folk Art (In the Style Of)

Materials and Techniques:

Velvet,Embroidered,Hand-Crafted

Place of Origin:

Thailand

Period:

Mid-20th Century

Date of Manufacture:

1950