Bomkai
Butidar Bomkai / Sonepur Sari
“A handwoven Sambalpuri silk sari designed with traditional Sambalpuri motifs using the single ikat weaving technique.”
Tie dyed in bright colours, with an extraordinary woven pallu (end-piece) and border in contrasting colours, makes the sari a perfect blend of contemporary and traditional styles. Set against a cream base, the sari showcases motifs reminiscent of pasapalli (checkered patterns) all over and finely crafted animal motifs in the border and pallu showcases the artisan’s expertise and attention to detail.
The bold rudraksha woven border, set against a red base, makes it look appealing. Adorning the pallu are an array of symbolic motifs, including deer, machcha (fish), phula (flower), lion, and tree, each carrying cultural significance.
The alpana, floral and temple motifs in the pallu infuse cultural richness.
Abundance, prosperity, conjugal felicity. Identified across the body field of this object.
Open motif entryRoyalty, strength, ceremonial power. Identified across the pallu panel of this object.
Open motif entryCosmic order; mathematical harmony in weave. Identified across the woven ground of this object.
Open motif entryIkat is among the most demanding of textile techniques — the resist-dye is applied not to finished cloth, but to the yarn itself, before a single thread reaches the loom. Bundles of warp (or weft, or both) are bound and dyed in successive colour baths; the pattern emerges as the loom finally aligns them. In India, three lineages dominate: the double-ikat patola of Patan in Gujarat, the bandha of Odisha, and the cotton and silk ikats of Pochampally and Puttapaka in Telangana.