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Fragment of a Floorspread

late 17th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 464
On this fragment from what was once a magnificent floorspread, later cut and hemmed for a different purpose, stately rows of poppies line the central field. Like several Mughal-period pile carpets, the main motif changes direction in some areas; here, alternate poppy plants appear upside down in the top row. The spread was made through the laborious dyeing process known as kalamkari; remarkably, the usually fugitive green is very well preserved. In this process, green was achieved by painting a yellow dye over areas already tinted with indigo, but the yellow often faded, leaving only the undercoat of blue on historic kalamkaris.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Fragment of a Floorspread
  • Date: late 17th century
  • Geography: Attributed to India
  • Medium: Cotton; plain weave, mordant-painted and dyed, resist-dyed
  • Dimensions: L. 66 3/4 in. (169.5 cm)
    W. 142 in. (360.7 cm)
  • Classification: Textiles-Rugs
  • Credit Line: The Alice and Nasli Heeramaneck Collection, Gift of Alice Heeramaneck, 1982
  • Object Number: 1982.239a
  • Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

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1700–1740
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17th century
Floral Tent Panel, Silk, gold; cut velvet, painted
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Fragment of a White-Ground Velvet Carpet
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