The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

White, rectangular cloth colorfully embroidered with three rows of shrines with rounded, pyramidal tops and square bases in which sit Hindu gods with light, blue, or red skin tones. In a central shrine double the size of the others stands the four-armed, blue-skinned god Vishnu. Two women with light skin tone tone on either side, facing him and holding offerings. Around the border run blue, red, white, green, and yellow quatrefoils, shapes like four-petaled flowers.

Rumal with Vishnu temple and subsidiary shrines

1700s

Northern India, Pahari Kingdom of Chamba

Silk and silver embroidery on cotton tabby ground
Overall: 62.2 x 63.5 cm (24 1/2 x 25 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade 1916.1208
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

This reversible embroidery was made using double-sided satin stitch, so the pictorial composition can be viewed from both sides.

Description

Two women bring gifts of pure water in a golden pot along with a flower garland to the four-armed blue Vishnu, whose favorite plant, the Tulsi basil, grows in an altar in front of the temple. Ten more shrines round out the sacred complex. To the upper right, the temple of Shiva with his trident stands next to that of his red, elephant-headed son, Ganesha. To the lower left, there appears to be temples to the sun and moon.

Silver threads used to denote jewelry have tarnished and appear black. The unfinished border reveals that outlines and stitches for the vines were sewn last.
  • In the case of this reversible embroidery, the curator wants to display it in the center of the Indian Paintings gallery (242b) so that the visitor can walk around it and see both sides. This required a special mount, a detail of which is seen here. Stitches around the perimeter of this rumal secure the embroidery to the perimeter of the plexi, almost like a trampoline. With nonglare glazing added to both sides, the textile can be displayed vertically and both sides can be seen.
  • ?–1916
    Mr. Jeptha Homer Wade II [1857–1926] and Mrs. Ellen Garretson Wade [1859–1917], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1916–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • For Modern America from the Ancient Near East. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 24-March 21, 1948).
  • {{cite web|title=Rumal with Vishnu temple and subsidiary shrines|url=false|author=|year=1700s|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.1208