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Animal motifs on Kantha
2013
Banglanatak
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
The embroidered quilt practiced in the age old tradition of Bengal is known as the nakshi Kantha. The colourful patterns and designs are the significant feature of Nakshi Kantha. The word nakshi is derived from the Bengali word Naksha which means designs.
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Details
- Title: Animal motifs on Kantha
- Date Created: 2013
- Location: Nanoor, Birbhum
- Rights: banglanatak.com
- About the craft: Kantha was a personal expression, an art-craft that was made spontaneously, even whimsically. It was never commissioned by rulers, nor ordered by the landed gentry. It was a craft that was practised by women of all rural classes. The origin of Kantha traces its history to a period not less than a thousand years. Its images reach back to even earlier sources, pre- and post- Vedic period. Some symbols such as the tree of life, the swirling cosmos and the sun are taken from the primitive art. The later's influence of Hinduism, in the making of Kanthas for religious ceremonies, pujas, weddings and births, gave the art its place as a vehicle of significant cultural meaning.
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