859 Banjara Odhana Shawl with Large-Mirrors

Beautiful handmade shawl from the Banjara gypsy tribe

The mirrors used are large as is typical of the art of this group.

Applique and embroidery work have been combined to create a beauftiful odhana or body-cover.

Handwoven hand dyed cotton base.

From the 1960s-1980s

Minor signs of usage related wear. Mirrors may not all be in perfect condition - some may be missing / cracked.

NOTES: The banjara people who were gypsies, chose cloth as their preferred medium of creatign art. Dense embroidery and weaves that do not use looms are their specialty. Some splinter groups use mirrors. As they subgroups moved away from each other geographically, their styles moved away from each aesthetically as they evolved differently over generations. This particular style is from Karnataka.

***

This item has spent a lifetime being used for the purpose of its creation with the original artist/user. Signs of this life lived heartily may be present on the piece in the form of stains, thread loss, loose threads, holes, tears, color run and other imperfections. Therefore the condition must be assumed to be “not” perfect. More photos of such imperfections will be provided on request.

***