Printed Fabric
Medium
Linen and cotton plain weave; block printed
Dimensions
173.7 × 81.7 cm (68 3/8 × 32 1/8 in.); Repeat: 31.3 × 40.2 cm (12 3/8 × 15 7/8 in.)
Classification
weaving - printed
Department
Textiles
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
39186
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
European manufacturers never successfully replicated Indian techniques for hand painting chintz (derived from the Hindi name for them, chint) fabrics, which were labor intensive and required thorough knowledge of the complex chemistry of natural dyes. After struggling with technical challenges for decades, Europeans improved color block printing techniques during the late 18th century. These advances enabled manufacturers to print multiple colors on a single fabric to more successfully imitate t...