Name/Title
Kantha : the embroidered quilts of BengalEntry/Object ID
NK9276.8.B3.K36 2009Description
"This first book-length study on kanthas published outside of South Asia focuses on two premier collections, one assembled by the legendary historian of Indian art, Dr. Stella Kramrisch, the other by Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz, leading proponents of self-taught art. Created from worn-out garments imaginatively embroidered by women with motifs and tales drawn from a rich regional repertoire, kanthas traditionally were stitched as gifts for births, weddings, and other family occasions. Innovative essays by leading scholars explore the domestic, ritual, and historical contexts of the fascinating quilts in these collections—made between the mid-19th and mid-20th century in what is today Bangladesh and West Bengal, India—and trace their reinterpretation as emblems of national identity and works of art." -- BOOK JACKETContext
Published in connection with the exhibition held Dec. 12, 2009-July 25, 2010, Philadelphia Museum of Art.Collection
Carol Westfall CollectionLexicon
Search Terms
embroidery--bangladesh, embroidery--bengal, kantha, quilts--bangladesh, quilts--bengalBook Details
Editor
Darielle MasonPublisher
Yale University PressDate Published
2009Call No.
NK9276.8.B3.K36ISBN
300154429, 9780300154429LCCN
2009033382Notes
Length: 304Exhibition
"Shisha, Kantha, and Kachcch: South Asian Domestic Embroidery in the TATTER Collection"General Notes
Note Type
ContentsNote
Background Texture: Lives and Landscapes of Bengal's Embroidered Quilts / Darielle Mason -- From Rags to Riches: Valuing Kanthas in Bengali Households / Pika Ghosh -- In Search of "Living Traditions": Gurusaday Dutt, Zainul Abedin, and the Institutional Life of Kanthas / Katherine Hacker -- Embroidering Bengal: Kantha Imagery and Regional Identity / Pika Ghosh -- Women's Words / Women's Voices in the Kantha / Niaz Zaman -- A Many-Splendored Thing: Kantha Technique and Design / Anne Peranteau -- Appendix. Stitch Diagrams -- The Stella Kramrisch Collection -- Interwoven in the Pattern of Time: Stella Kramrisch and Kanthas / Darielle Mason -- Kantha (1939) / Stella Kramrisch -- The Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Collection -- Resonances: A Discussion on Collecting with Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz / Darielle Mason.