Medium-Green Tibetan Lotus Brocade Fabric from Banaras
Dry clean only. Store folded in a soft muslin pouch away from direct sunlight to keep the sheen alive.
Description
Pure Silk Handloom Brocade<br>Weaver Kasim Family of Banaras. 23 Inches Wide
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Behind this piece
Banaras has woven its mythology into silk for over five centuries, and the Kasim family carries that lineage with quiet mastery. This brocade belongs to a tradition where the lotus is not merely decorative but devotional, drawn from Tibetan Buddhist iconography and absorbed into the Banarasi loom's vocabulary over generations of trade and pilgrimage. The ground is pure silk, luminous in the particular way that handloom silk achieves and power-looms cannot replicate. The medium green reads differently in morning light than in candlelight, which is precisely the point.
How to style
Cut this fabric into an unlined, loose-draped kurta with a mandarin collar and wear it to a gallery opening or literary festival with raw silk trousers in ivory. Alternatively, commission a structured blouse from it to pair beneath an organza sari for a wedding festivity. For a quieter occasion, a tailored jacket over white cotton works beautifully. In each case, jewellery should be restrained: carved jade or green onyx set in silver, kept close to the skin. Footwear in tan leather or kolhapuri sandals completes the register.
Fabric & care
Pure silk brocade requests patience rather than effort. Dry-clean for the first wash to preserve the zari-adjacent weave structure and the silk's natural sheen. If washing at home thereafter, use cold water with a capful of mild, pH-neutral liquid detergent, and handle without wringing. Lay flat on a clean cotton towel to dry, away from direct sunlight, which yellows silk over time. Store folded in a muslin cloth, never plastic. A neem leaf or cedar block placed nearby will discourage insects without the harshness of mothballs.
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