Woman's Shawl (phulkari)

Phulkaris (“flower work”) are brightly coloured cotton cloths (khaddar, or khadi) embroidered with fine pat silk to create stylized patterns. Made to wear or present on auspicious religious occasions or significant life events, such as marriages and births, phulkaris were never intended to be sold or gifted to outsiders. Often woven by Hindu, Sikh and Muslim women in rural Punjab, the botanical designs of phulkaris are arranged in asymmetrical patterns, evoking the varied densities of the fields of wheat and corn the weavers were familiar with.