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Kalaga

Kalaga are embroidered tapestries from Myanmar made of silk, felt and other materials sewn onto cotton or velvet backgrounds. They emerged in the 19th century during the Konbaung dynasty and featured elaborate scenes from classical plays. Figures are cut out and sewn onto the background with metallic and plain threads and decorated with beads and stones. Kalaga reached their peak popularity during the reign of King Mindon Min when velvet became fashionable at the royal court.

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226 views2 pages

Kalaga

Kalaga are embroidered tapestries from Myanmar made of silk, felt and other materials sewn onto cotton or velvet backgrounds. They emerged in the 19th century during the Konbaung dynasty and featured elaborate scenes from classical plays. Figures are cut out and sewn onto the background with metallic and plain threads and decorated with beads and stones. Kalaga reached their peak popularity during the reign of King Mindon Min when velvet became fashionable at the royal court.

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Kalaga

Kalaga (Burmese: ကန့်လန့်က ာ) is a heavily embroidered


appliqué tapestry made of silk, flannel, felt, wool and lace
against a background made of cotton or velvet indigenous
to Burma (Myanmar).[1] The word kalaga, which means
"curtain," comes from the Burmese language, although
Burmese refer to such tapestries as shwe gyi do (ေ ချည်ထိး;
lit. "gold thread embroidery").[2] These tapestries use a
sewing technique called shwe gyi (ေ ချည်)[3]

This artform emerged during the Konbaung dynasty in the


mid-19th century and reached its zenith during the reign of
Close-up of an unfinished kalaga.
Mindon Min, when velvet became fashionable at the royal
court.[4]

In a typical tapestry, padded figures are cut from various types of cloth and sewn onto a background, usually
red or black cloth to form an elaborate scene, traditionally from Burmese classical plays (e.g. Ramayana,
Jataka).[1][5][6] The figures are sewn using a combination of metallic and plain threads and adorned with
sequins, beads and glass stones.[6]

See also
Culture of Myanmar

References
1. Mukharji, T. N. (1888). Art-manufactures of India (https://archive.org/details/artmanufactureso0
0mukh). Superintendent of Government Printing, India. pp. 387 (https://archive.org/details/artm
anufactureso00mukh/page/387)–388.
2. "Journal of Burma Studies - Volume 16.1" (http://www.niu.edu/burma/publications/jbs/vol16.1/in
dex.shtml). Northern Illinois University. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
3. Fraser-Lu, Sylvia (1994). Burmese Crafts: Past and Present. Oxford University Press. p. 265.
ISBN 9780195886085.
4. Falconer, John; Luca Invernizzi (2000). Burmese Design and Architecture. Tuttle Publishing.
pp. 194–195. ISBN 9789625938820.
5. Leslie, Catherine Amoroso (2007). Needlework Through History. Greenwood Publishing
Group. p. 121. ISBN 9780313335488.
6. "More information about Burmese Kalagas" (http://www.siamtraders.com/html/burma/kalaga.ht
ml). SiamTraders.com. 2001. Retrieved 6 October 2013.

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This page was last edited on 5 March 2020, at 22:20 (UTC).

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