A silk and metal-thread embroidered bhajoth cushion, Deccan or Gujarat, India, second half 18th century

This beautifully embroidered bhajoth cushion would sit atop a low stool (bhajoth) on which would be placed a spiritual offering or deity as part of a Vaishnavite shrine. The white cotton ground is embroidered with the popular delicate palette of pinks, yellows, blues and greens with highlights of metal-thread. Here, the embroiderer has used two tones of green to add dimension to the leaves.

In 18^th century India, Gujarat and the Deccan were the most celebrated sources of embroidery and embroideries of these centres show comparable colouration, see HALI, no. 203, pp. 110-117 for Gujarati textiles in Karun Thakar’s collection, and Christie’s, London, 24 October 2022, lots 1130 and 1133, for Deccani examples also showing two tones of green in the leaves). Gujarati embroiderers tended to use a fine chain-stitch while this cushion is embroidered with a satin stitch and incorporates metal-wrapped thread, a feature more commonly associated with Deccani production (Cohen 2015, p. 48). However, a silk and metal-thread embroidered floorspread sold in these rooms, 26 October 2023, lot 11, and thought to have been commissioned in Gujarat by George Matcham, an East India Company officer resident in Bharuch, Gujarat, shared the same technique and presence of metal-thread as shown here.