Myth and Cloth from India: The Kalamkari Collection in the Ethnographic Museum of the University of Zurich

Abstract

Important centers of devotional Kalamkari art are found in the southeast of India. The large, hand-painted temple cloths, often including extensive inscriptions, portray stories from the Puranas or the great epics <i>Mahabharata</i> and <i>Ramayana</i> in many successive images. These are organized in rows that run horizontally around a large centerpiece, which depicts a key scene. Kalamkari temple hangings mark a sacred space and offer a condensed presence of the divine, yet they also have a narrative function. Following clear aesthetic and stylistic conventions, they edify, illustrate, and serve as mnemonic devices. The article discusses the multifaceted collection of Kalamkari temple cloths from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh owned by the Ethnographic Museum of the University of Zurich.