Wall hanging with design of trees, peacocks, tigers, and other animals

Textiles of this type of manufacture are known as kalamkari (“pen work”). The outlines and primary features of the design are printed with hand-carved blocks while the insides of the designs as well as other details are hand painted. These textiles, produced on the southeast coast of India, were popular export items for personal and domestic uses, and the market for these goods included Southeast Asia, East Asia, Iran, and Europe. Through such textiles, Indian designs circulated widely and impacted fashion and taste internationally. The format and designs of these fabrics varied according to the local consumers’ tastes; this piece, probably made for the Iranian market, displays motifs that were popular in Iran: the cypress tree, flowers, and animals such as peacocks and tigers.