This brocade skirt is woven with arabesque and foliate motifs, typical of 20th century Benarasi weaving, but also incorporating Indian Nationalist imagery, with the inclusion of the map of (pre-Partition) India in each sunburst motif along the bottom edge of the skirt. The Indian nationalist movement inspired artists and craftsmen to incorporate nationalist imagery into their works as a mark of support and an open display of allegiance. The figures of Mother India (Bharat Mata), the Indian national flag, nationalist leaders were all part of this lexicon of imagery that was associated with the struggle for independence, and presented through painting, poetry, printmaking, and weaving traditions such as jamdani, baluchari and Benarasi brocade. This object exemplifies this fascinating juxtaposition between highly skilled craftsmanship, traditional style of dress, as well as the new imagery that arose from India’s struggle for independence, that also had a profound impact on the many diasporic Indian communities of the time.
