Waterwheel Palampore Digital Interactive
Indian cotton painters innovated color and design to meet changing European fashions. Their virtuosity ranged from delicate flowers scaled to men’s dressing gowns to large Japanese-inspired plants and birds to fill enormous wall hangings. Some pieces include over ten different colors. Often Indian painters followed design samples sent from Europe, but the vitality of their work is always unmistakable.
Scroll down to learn more about some of these motifs!
This scene shows an eagle—a symbol of power—with its outstretched wings swooping towards a duck nesting on the water. Look for plants and a small bird outlined in white on the purple ground of the marsh.
Look for similarities between this scene and the photo of the eagle.
Pine trees with sinuous trunks and blue and green foliage cover this piece. The needles were formed by painting with wax before dyeing. Pine trees are a symbol of longevity in Japanese and Chinese art, and they are often paired with cranes.
Look for similarities between the motif and the photo of the Japanese black pine tree, Pinus thunbergii.
A stylized Japanese Crane, Grus japonensis, with its white body, black neck, and black tail feathers is perched on top of a rock. Cranes are important birds in Chinese and Japanese culture and art that symbolize longevity.
Look for similarities between this motif and the photo of the Japanese Crane.
This motif is thought to represent a Japanese waterwheel with a stream of water flowing through it. The Indian chintz painter stylized the wheel’s spokes and the pegs that secure the paddles. Water wheels are the only non-natural motif on this piece.
Look for similarities between this motif and the photo of the Japanese waterwheel.
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