Kantha : the embroidered quilts of Bengal from the Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz collection and the Stella Kramrisch collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art

2009·45.4 MB·English

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KANTHA
iis iSROIMBREDYOUILIS OR BENGAL
from the Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Collection
and the Stella Kramrisch Collection
of the Philadelphia Museum of Art
EDITE DSB Ye DARIEREE MASON
With essays by Pika Ghosh, Katherine Hacker,
Darielle Mason, Anne Peranteau, and Niaz Zaman
PHIEADEERPEIA MUSEUM OR ART
Published in connection with the exhibition Text and compilation © 2009 Philadelphia Museum
Kantha: The Embroidered Quilts of Bengal of Art
from the Jilland Sheldon Bonovitz Collection All rights reserved. No part of this publication may
and the Stella Kramrisch Collection of the be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
Philadelphia Museum ofA rt means, electronic or mechanical, including photo-
December 12, 2009-July 25, 2010 copying, recording, or any other information storage
or retrieval system, without permission in writing
Philadelphia Museum ofA rt
from the publisher.
The exhibition and this publication were Every attempt has been made to find the copyright
made possible by Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz, holders of the works reproduced herein. Any omis-
sion is unintentional.
with additional generous support from
The Coby Foundation, Ltd. Work by James Castle © The James Castle Collec-
tion, L.P., Boise, Idaho
Work by William Hawkins courtesy Ricco/Maresca
Gallery, New York
JACKET/COVER ILLUSTRATIONS: Detail (front cover)
Work by Martin Ramirez © 2009 Estate of Martin
and overall (back cover) of kantha (plate 20).
Ramirez
Gift of Stella Kramrisch, 1968-184-12
FRONTISPIECE: Detail of kantha (plate 26).
Stella Kramrisch Collection, 1994-148-686
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
PAGE V: Detail of kantha (plate 75).
The Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Collection Kantha : the embroidered quilts of Bengal from the
PAGE VI: Detail of kantha (plate 52). Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Collection and the Stella
Gift of Stella Kramrisch, 1968384-13 Kramrisch Collection of the Philadelphia Museum of
PAGE Vill: Detail of kantha (plate 24). Art / edited by Darielle Mason ; with essays by Pika
Stella Kramrisch Collection, 1994-148-679 Ghosh. ... [et al.].
PAGES 156-57: Detail of kantha (plate 1). p. cm.
Stella Kramrisch Collection, 1994-148-705 Published in connection with the exhibition held
PAGES 238-39: Detail of kantha (plate 53). Dec. 12, 2009-July 25, 2010, Philadelphia Museum of
The Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Collection Art.
ISBN 978-0-87633-218-4 (PMA cloth) — ISBN 978-o-
Produced by the Publishing Department 87633-2191 (PMA paper) — ISBN 978-0-300-15442-9 (Yale
Philadelphia Museum ofA rt cloth) 1. Kanthas—Exhibitions. 2. Bonovitz, Sheldon
Sherry Babbitt, The William T. Ranney M.—Art collections—Exhibitions. 3. Bonovitz, Jill
Director of Publishing (Jill F.)—Art collections—Exhibitions. 4. Kramrisch,
2525 Pennsylvania Avenue Stella, 1898-1993—Art collections—Exhibitions.
Philadelphia, PA 19130 I. Mason, Darielle.
USA NK9276.8.B3K36 2010
www.philamuseum.org 746.460954'14074748u—dc22 2009033382
Editorial coordination: David Updike
Additional copy-editing: Lynne Shaner All collection photography by Graydon Wood
Production: Richard Bonk except figs. 1.26 and 5.5 by Jason Wierzbicki
Design: Bessas & Ackerman, Guilford, Connecticut
Printed and bound in Singapore
by Tien Wah Press Pte Ltd
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CONTENTS
Foreword ix A Many-Splendored Thing:
A Note tothe Reader xi Kantha Technique and Design 139
Maps xii ANNE PERANTEAU
Appendix: Stitch Diagrams 155
Background Texture: Lives and Landscapes
of Bengal’s Embroidered Quilts 1 The Stella Kramrisch Collection
DARIELLE MASON Interwoven in the Pattern of Time:
Stella Kramrisch and Kanthas 158
DARIELLE MASON
From Rags to Riches:
Valuing Kanthas in Bengali Households 31
Kantha (1939) 169
PIKA GHOSH
STELLA KRAMRISCH
In Search of “Living Traditions’: PLATES 185
Gurusaday Dutt, Zainul Abedin, and the
Institutional Life of Kanthas 59 The Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz
KATHERINE HACKER Collection
Resonances: A Discussion on Collecting
Embroidering Bengal: with Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz 240
Kantha Imagery and Regional Identity 81 DARIELLE MASON
PIKA GHOSH
REATES AS
Women’s Words /W omen’s Voices
inthe Kantha 15
Selected English-Language Bibliography 288
NIAZ ZAMAN Acknowledgments 289