A KALAMKARI COTTON HANGING WITH MIHRAB NICHE Possibly Deccan, Central India for the Persian export market, mid to late 19th century The white cotton ground woodblock-printed and painted in blue, red, green, and ochre with a central polylobed arch reminiscent of mihrab niches and framed by flower-filled spandrels within multiple borders of cypress trees, butis (bothes, paisley leaves), and floral clusters, the central field of the arch filled with floral stems, the architectural motifs at the top affiliated with the gabled facades of Mughal mosques, stylised minarets on the outer borders, backed in printed and painted coarse linen with floral vines, 133cm x 92cm.

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