A COLLECTION OF BALOCH BHUJKI (DOWRY BAGS) AND OTHER TEXTILES
Pakistan and Rajasthan, North-Western India, first half of the 20th century

The cotton grounds of the bhujkis worked in coloured silks in a variety of techniques, including buttonhole, chain, satin, and couched stitching, embellished with shells, mirror-work, and beadwork, with bright tassels and woven string fastenings, the largest 34cm x 24cm when extended; and a selection of Indian textiles, including a Rajasthani saddle-cover of red cotton centre, appliqued in white cut-work cotton, and mirror-work within a border of indigo cotton, similarly worked with a repeating jali design, 192cm x 140cm; a Thatta chaupar (dice game) cloth, the cross-shaped sides of red cotton, chequered into the game’s grid in coloured silks with discs and crossed lines, the centre of similarly worked green cotton concealing a pocket for games pieces, 83cm x 82cm; a Nara (Attock, Pakistan Punjab) jainamaz (prayer mat), the white ground appliqued with cut-work stylised designs and geometric quilting shapes in bright cotton segments, the running stitch in black cotton, lined in orange cotton, 120cm x 64cm; a Rajasthani cover of white cotton, intricately worked in polychrome cottons and silks in mirror-worked discs linked by linear designs, the multiple border of cotton strips quilted and appliqued with repeating geometric designs, 57cm x 81cm; and a Thatta lungi (sash or turban cloth) of silk, woven with repeating stripes of red, green, yellow, and blue in a diapered design, 464cm x 48cm.

Provenance (Rajasthani group of Baloch bhujkis): Bonhams London, 5 July 2006, lot 339A.

Encapsulating a near-glossary of techniques and materials, this group of textiles and accessories exemplifies the range and diversity of crafts in some of the most distinguished textile hubs of the region.