Woman's festival veil or wall hanging (Sainchi phulkari)

Figurative black-ground embroideries were produced in a small area of the old Indian Punjab. Created by household women for their own use as festival veils and wall hangings, they were essentially fantasy cloths, mixing mythological scenes and daily happenstance, stock village characters and exotic strangers, familiar animals and imaginary beasts, everyday objects and longed-for luxuries. Traditional yet highly idiosynchratic, these textiles are among the most whimsical creations of South Asia.