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Warli painting · Maharashtra

Hand-Painted Warli Design Sari

KL/43/2024 · Accession218" × 46"Warli paintingCatalogued 20.09.2024Good condition
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KL/43/2024 · PLATE 01
IIIF DEEP-ZOOM · 8400 × 10500
10 cm
Full Object — Front — high-resolution archival photograph
© The Krishna Lal Collection · Photography by [studio] · Licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 for scholarly use. Request high-resolution access via Research Office.
Catalogue Record

Object Metadata

Accession Number
KL/43/2024
Object Title
Hand-Painted Warli Design Sari
Production State
Maharashtra
Craft Tradition
Warli painting
Craft Technique
Hand painting
Weave Type
Plain weave ground, hand-painted
Primary Materials
Cotton
Tradition
Warli
Dimensions
218" × 46" (L × W)
Colour Palette
Earth brownWhite
Condition
Good — Stable, no active deterioration
Current Location
The Krishna Lal Collection, New Delhi
Documented By
Sareekah Agarwaal
Documented On
20.09.2024
Schema Standard
Getty Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT)
§ I — Curatorial Narrative
by Sareekah Agarwaal, 2024

A handpainted gicha tussar silk sari featuring intricate warli art designs bringing together timeless artistry and luxurious fabric.

The sari is a tribute to tribal village life, capturing the essence of daily routines and communal celebrations through storytelling motifs. The design portrays men and women engaged in everyday activities - working in the fields, drawing water from the well, carrying water pots, cooking, grazing animals, celebrating rituals and joyful dancing.

Each element reflects the deep connection between nature, culture, and community, hallmark features of warli art. The sari is a perfect blend of tradition and artistry.

Footnotes
  1. 1 See Mohanty, B.C., Ikat Fabrics of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, Calico Museum, 1980.
  2. 2 Field interview, master weaver, March 2024.
  3. 3 Refer to motif index entries below.
§ II — Motif Analysis
2 motifs identified
Vines
लताएँ

Continuity; the rhythm of nature. Identified across the creeping borders of this object.

Open motif entry
Geometric
ज्यामिति

Cosmic order; mathematical harmony in weave. Identified across the woven ground of this object.

Open motif entry
§ III — Technique
Warli painting

Warli
Painting

Several of India's painted-textile traditions descend directly from ritual wall and floor art: Madhubani from the Mithila murals of Bihar, Warli from the Adivasi wall paintings of Maharashtra, Sohrai from the harvest art of eastern India. Applied to silk and cotton with natural pigments and bamboo or twig pens, they carry a graphic, narrative density unlike any woven design.

STEP 01
Prime the cloth
STEP 02
Sketch the composition
STEP 03
Fill with natural pigments
STEP 04
Outline and detail
Open technique family
DIAGRAM — Hand Painting process
Fig. III.1 · Hand Painting · Pigments on cloth
§ IV — Cross-Linked Discovery

Related Objects in the Collection

Cite This Object
Agarwaal, S. (2024). Hand-Painted Warli Design Sari (KL/43/2024). The Krishna Lal Collection: An Archive of Indian Textile Traditions. Retrieved 01 Jun 2026 from krishnalal-collection.org/collection/kl-43-2024.
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