Batik Coverlet
Ketaki Roy ChowdhuryKala Bhavana, Santiniketan, India, 1972
- Materials & techniques
- Cotton, batik; wax resist and dyes
- Collection
- Ketaki Roy Chowdhury
Object details
This batik coverlet was made by Ketaki Roy Chowdhury at Kala Bhavana in 1972 and was used as a backdrop at Amrakunja during Indira Gandhi’s visit to Santiniketan.
Conceived on a larger scale than a wearable textile, the work demonstrates the potential of batik as a medium for expansive figurative compositions.
The imagery is inspired by the relief sculptures of Mahabalipuram, with figures of Brahma, Ganesha and a Yakshinitranslated into the linear language of wax-resist batik. Rather than reproducing the sculptures literally, Roy Chowdhury interprets their sculptural volumes and distinctive silhouettes through simplified contours and patterned surfaces. The figures are given a strong presence across the textile, allowing the coverlet to function simultaneously as an ornamental backdrop and a large-scale pictorial work.
The choice of Mahabalipuram as a source reflects the wider engagement at Kala Bhavana with Indian sculptural and architectural traditions, while the translation of stone relief into batik demonstrates the medium’s capacity to move between painting, drawing and textile. Made for a significant public occasion at Amrakunja, the coverlet also illustrates how batik could extend beyond clothing and domestic use into the ceremonial and visual environment of Santiniketan.
