Black Hand Painted Madhubani Tussar Ghicha Silk Saree – Bhagalpuri Handloom

Purain

A charcoal-black tussar body, and against it a pallu painted by hand — lotus blooms in coral and red opening around a concentric medallion, with parrots and flowering vine filling the field to the edge.

About the painting

This is hand-painted Mithila work, drawn straight onto the silk. The pencil underdrawing still shows through in places, the hatching is laid in stroke by stroke, and the parrots along the border are each a little different from one another — which is what tells you a hand made them rather than a screen.

At the centre is a purain, the lotus-pond motif: concentric rings of petal and bead built outward from a small flowered core. In Mithila painting the purain is the heart of kohbar work, the imagery painted on the walls of a nuptial chamber, and it stands for water, fertility and continuity. Around it the painter has set full lotus blooms, birds, and leaves in blue, green and coral.

Against black, the natural beige ground of the pallu reads almost like paper — which is exactly the effect the tradition was built for.

About the fabric

Tussar Ghicha silk, handwoven in Bhagalpur. Ghicha is the yarn drawn from the outer layers of the cocoon and spun by hand — hence the slubby, uneven texture and the soft matte lustre. In black it reads deep rather than flat, with the slub catching a faint grey where the light falls.

Details

• Fabric: Tussar Ghicha Silk
• Colour: Black with natural beige and coral
• Work: Hand-painted Madhubani (Mithila), painted directly onto the silk
• Pallu: Purain lotus-pond medallion with lotus, parrots and flowering vine
• Border: Hand-painted Madhubani, both sides
• Blouse piece:  unstitched, 0.8 m
• Saree length: 5.5 m | Width: 1.1 m 
• Care: Dry clean only. Do not soak or scrub the painted areas. Store wrapped in cotton or muslin, refold along a different line every few months.

A note on hand work

Each piece is woven individually and painted by hand, so no two are alike. Slight irregularities in the slub, in the line, and in the density of colour are the marks of the hand that made it. Colour may vary a little from your screen.