TEXTILES
India: Gujarat, Ahmedabad, Ahmedabad
Vaghrie caste; Hindu
Mata pachedi (temple cloth)
1957
Plain weave; Printed, hand blocked; Resist dyed, mordant resist; Painted
Cotton; Vegetable dye (madder)
2 yds. 33 1/2 in. x 1 yd. 18 1/4 in. (2.67 x 1.38 m)
Elizabeth Bayley Willis Collection
TC 58.2-79

Ganesha, the elephant headed god, is traditionally placed to her upper left. All figures in the rows on the left side of the Mata's temple face toward her, bearing offerings and gifts. Rows of figures on the right side of the temple relate a Krishna legend and an episode from the Ramayana, and include the figures of Rama, Lakshman, Hanuman, Sita, and Ravana. Outside rows on both right and left depict women devotees dressed in typical Gujarati clothing, the odhani and ghaghara. The Mata Pachedi's role as a katha or visual storytelling highlights the compelling and powerful nature of the textile. -- Label copy for Couryard, Bazaar, Temple:Traditions of Textile Expression in India, Bellevue Art Museum, June 12 to July 25, 1982.