Gujarat
Mordants, painted and printed, and dyes on cotton cloth
The cloth features a prominent, centrally placed iconic image of Meladi Mata enshrined within a pavilion. A folk goddess worshiped by the Vaghri community of Gujarat, Meladi Mata is identified by her mount, the black goat. The four armed Goddess is sitting astride a goat carrying various weapons and implements. Around the central form on either side, are horizontal registers demarcated with lines. These registers are filled with rows of small hand-printed figures; some, portraying devotees, while others are singular images representing mythological characters or deities. On the left side in the middle register, a priest is depicted leading a buffalo to the central pavilion. On the right side, one row depicts various manifestations of the mother-goddess such as Ambika on a Tiger and Khodiar on a crocodile. Above them are depictions from the Hindu Epics, Mahabharata and Ramayana including Rama and Lakshman hunting the two-headed deer Maricha. The overall composition with its rows of devotees replicates the grand religious ceremony that would take place. The pictorial area of the composition is framed by geometric and floral bands.
In many regions of India, various types of imaged temple cloths, executed with different materials and techniques, have originated to serve narrative, iconic, or ritual ends for diverse groups of believers. One such tradition is found in Gujarat, where temple cloths painted and printed with mordants that combine with dyes to fix their colors are a component in goddess worship. The cloths, which were formerly made in villages in the areas surrounding Ahmedabad but now probably are produced only in the city proper, honour the Great Goddess under the aspect of Mother Goddess (Mata) one or more of several manifestations peculiar to Gujarat, such as Ambika on tiger, Bahuchara on a cock, Meladi on a billy goat, Khodiar on a crocodile, and Vihat on a water buffalo.
Size (cms): 99(H) x 159(W)
Size (inches): 39(H) x 62.5(W)
