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Figurative Design on Masland Mat
Ashok Jana2017
Banglanatak
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Highly skilled artists design Masland with woven figurative motifs. The alternation of reeds in such cases enables the development of images rather than simple design formats. These images are primarily figures of Gods and Goddesses.
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Details
- Title: Figurative Design on Masland Mat
- Creator: Ashok Jana
- Date Created: 2017
- Location: Paschim Medinipur
- Subject Keywords: Crafts, Madur, Madurkathi, Masland, Craftspersons, Natural-fibre, Mat-weaving, Artists, Bengal
- Rights: Banglanatak.com
- Medium: Madurkathi reeds, azo free disperse dyes, and cotton thread
- About the craft: Masland or Mataranchi is an exclusive and expensive handmade variety of Madur made with intricate weaving skills by weavers of Sabang in Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal. The origin of the craft in West Bengal dates back to the Muslim period, when ‘Masland’ mats of superfine variety with fine cotton as weft were produced under royal patronage. Mats were collected as revenue of the Jaigirdari system. In 1744, Nawab Alibardi Khan issued a charter to the Jaigirdars in this regard and as a result, it was obligatory to supply ‘Masland’ mats for use in the collectorate. The traditional mat making families still retain the knowledge of weaving this fine variety of exclusive mats locally known as Masland or Mataranchi.
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