You might have coveted for a beautiful kantha artwork yourself after spotting it in a friend’s living room and speculated about its origin? Or admired a handmade Indian painting with intricate geometrical patterns hanging in your office passageway and wondered what it is called? You would find your answers here.
Kantha is the type of embroidery, popular in eastern countries like Bangladesh and Indian states of West Bengal and Odisha. It is made from artistically hand-stitching layers of old saris together to make a thin piece of blanket or quilt. These come in varying happy, eye popping hues with beautiful intricate patterns and are popularly used as quilts, blankets, pillow cases and table cloths. A lot of websites provide you with a chance to buy kantha quilts online from a wide array of collection. This means you can buy these vintage style throw-blankets from the comforts of your home. These products are exclusively shipped all over the globe from India and Bangladesh. Buy one and feel connected to a deep-rooted, rich human culture.
Now let’s move on to those beautiful handmade painting you came across at your office. Those are officially called Madhubani paintings or Mithila art, deriving their name from their place of origin- Mithila region of Bihar state in India. These paintings are made using natural dyes and done with fingers, matchsticks, twigs and nib-pens. A simple search of ‘madhubani paintings online’ will open up a large list of e-commerce websites to you which specialise in the sale of these works of art. Choose from its five distinct styles of Bharni, Katchni, Tantrik, Nepali and Gobar. Look for the unique characters of each and select one that appeals to your senses.
Add that oomph of colour to your living room with these rich artsy pieces from Eastern India.