Collection of 5 Hand Tie Dyed Turban Cloths Leharia: C19th Rajasthan, India

This wonderful collection comprises of 5 cotton tie dyed turban cloths (laharia) from Rajasthan in northern India.

Dating from the early 20th century and made from a fine cotton muslin, they have been dyed in the laharia technique which means ‘wave’.

Some of the turban cloths can have up to seven colours in a complicated design with narrow zig zags punctuated by wider stripes.

The textile artists roll the fabric diagonally into a coil from seal edge to seal edge and tie all the sections they want to remain undue with cotton thread.They then dye the fabric starting with the lightest colour and progressing to the darker colours. This results in a pattern of diagonal stripes.For multicoloured lines, some areas are opened and others tied up for a new dye bath. They often combine this technique with hand painted dyeing.

These turban cloths are antique and as such have some of the idiosyncrasies that you’d expect in a loved and used textile of this antiquity. There may be small flaws, holes ,marks and signs of wear which only add to their story and history.

Chapati rollers are not included.

Measurements:

Turban cloth 1: Red and white: 8.66m L X 21cm W

Turban cloth 2: pink and white with coloured stripe: 14m X 15.5cm

Turban cloth 3: plain pink (double): 6.25m X 15.5cm

Turban cloth 4: narrow multi colour zig-zag stripe: 5.25m X 14cm

Turban cloth 5: longer multi colour zig-zag stripe: 19.5m X 18cm 

Measurements: