For more than four thousand years, India has been producing and supplying fine cotton textiles to a thriving export market, having achieved preeminence as a textile producer through early technical advances in mordant painting and resist-dyeing. In this technique, the cloth is first either painted or printed with different mordants (chemicals, such as certain acids or salts that set dyes on fabrics). The dye is then absorbed only in areas where a mordant was applied and is resisted where there is no mordant.

Indian textiles fueled the spice trade, supplying Southeast Asia’s insatiable appetite for fine cottons in exchange for exotic woods such as sandalwood and the spices nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and pepper. In the sixteenth century the Portuguese, and later the Dutch, English, and French, asserted themselves in this trade arena; by the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the latter had achieved dominance. Indian textile artisans, who had been producing cloths for export for centuries, now created textiles that suited European tastes. During the European era, the design of flowering trees, floral bouquets, and leafy tendrils dominated the trade, which makes this palampore a rare example showcasing an amalgamation of popular design elements for the export market. The presence of Chinese motifs such as the central lobed design with its corner quarter-medallions reflects the influence of eighteenth-century Aubusson carpets. The playful inclusion of tigers and cats set against the blue-green field enhances the exoticism of this unique object (Rosemary Crill, personal correspondence with author, April 13, 2004). jkd