Rumal with Vishnu temple and subsidiary shrines (1700s): Art, History and Details

Rumal with Vishnu temple and subsidiary shrines (1700s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Two women bring gifts of pure water in a golden pot along with a flower garland to the four-armed blue Vishnu, whose favorite plant, the Tulsi basil, grows in an altar in front of the temple. Ten more shrines round out the sacred complex. To the upper right, the temple of Shiva with his trident stands next to that of his red, elephant-headed son, Ganesha. To the lower left, there appears to be temples to the sun and moon. Silver threads used to denote jewelry have tarnished and appear black. The unfinished border reveals that outlines and stitches for the vines were sewn last.

Object facts

• Title: Rumal with Vishnu temple and subsidiary shrines
• Date: 1700s
• Culture: Northern India, Pahari Kingdom of Chamba
• Type: Embroidery
• Technique: Silk and silver embroidery on cotton tabby ground
• Dimensions: Overall: 62.2 x 63.5 cm (24 1/2 x 25 in.)
• Collection: Textiles
• Department: Textiles
• Accession number: 1916.1208

A detail from the museum

This reversible embroidery was made using double-sided satin stitch, so the pictorial composition can be viewed from both sides.

Collection credit

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.