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The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has the world’s most important collection of 19th-century temple hangings from South India. Commissioned by Hindu temples and monasteries (maths), and by individuals for religious use, the hangings were produced in the Kalamkari style of hand drawing, mordant-dyeing and painting. Striking in artistry, and imposing in size, these temple hangings represent a complex technique that reached its highest expression in southern India.

The majority of these pieces are from coastal Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu, with one extraordinary Ramayana hanging from Sri Lanka. All of them date from the 19th century except for one astonishing 20th-century hanging from Srikalahasti, depicting the life of Christ in the traditional Hindu Kalamkari style.

A first of its kind, this volume presents a fully illustrated compilation of nineteen pieces from the V&A collection, accompanied by translations of their inscriptions, and a summary of the story depicted therein. The ‘frame by-frame’ analyses of these narratives yield a fascinating range of stories, from versions of the Ramayana to local epics.

Bringing this previously unpublished collection together, the book provides us with a new look at the remarkable variety of regional artistic traditions, and allows us to celebrate the master craftsmen whose names are now known to us to be celebrated for the first time.