Large Indian Kalamkari Temple Painting Hindu Story Textile Wall Art

A Kalamkari Temple Painting from South India depicting a Hindu story, circa 1900-1920. This hand-drawn, all-natural hand-dyed textile was a traditional artwork of the temple town of Srikalahasti in Andhra Pradesh in South India. Set on a wooden frame and a string across the back for hanging his art on the wall.


Kalamkari is an ancient textile printing art that finds its roots in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The ancient textile printing art form is believed to have evolved about 3000 years ago in Andhra Pradesh. Kalamkari gained popularity in the south of India during the reign of Vijayanagara Empire. Kalam implies 'pen' and Kari means 'art', a name given by the Mughals when they discovered the art during their reign over the Deccan region. Only natural dyes are used in Kalamkari, which involves twenty-three steps. There are two main styles of Kalamkari. The block printed that is practised in the town of Machilipatnam and the hand painted style that is largely practised in the town of Srikalahasti, both located in Andhra Pradesh.


Srikalahasti style of Kalamkari, where the "kalam" or pen is used for freehand drawing of the subject and filling in the colours, is entirely hand worked. It is produced in Srikalahasti of Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh. This style flourished in temples centred on creating unique religious identities, appearing on scrolls, temple hangings, chariot banners as well as depictions of deities and scenes taken from the Hindu epics (e.g. Ramayana, Mahabharata and Purana). The style owes its present status to Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay who popularised the art as the first chairperson of the All India Handicrafts Board.