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19th–early 20th century · Muslin with in-weave design · Asian Art

Bengali muslins have been admired for their delicacy of weave and refined decoration since antiquity. The skill of Bengal weavers has been long praised and their product once formed a staple of the Indo-Roman trade to the Mediterraean, where Pliny captured the cloth’s ephemeral quality, referring to it as “woven air.” In these examples, silver and gold-wrapped thread has been integrated into the fabric of the cloth, creating an in-weave design of great delicacy.

Artist

Unknown

Date

19th–early 20th century

Medium

Muslin with in-weave design

Culture

Bangladesh, Dacca

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Yukikazu and Kimiko Iwasa, in memory of Seizaburo and Shizuko Iwasa, 2019