White Hand-Woven Banarasi Brocade with Stylized Floral Vase
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. 23.5 Inches Wide
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Behind this piece
Banaras has woven silk for over a thousand years, and the brocade tradition its looms carry is among the most technically demanding in India. This ivory ground cloth belongs to a lineage of kimkhab and meenakari work that once dressed Mughal courts. The stylised floral vase motif, rendered in supplementary weft, draws from Persian manuscript painting filtered through generations of Banarasi interpretation. The Kasim family of Banaras continues this tradition on handlooms in the old weaving quarter of Madanpura, where pattern cards are passed down not merely as instructions, but as a form of inherited memory.
How to style
Wear this brocade as a structured jacket-blouse over a ivory or pale gold tissue silk saree for a winter wedding, anchored by polki or uncut-diamond earrings. As an anarkali kurta fabric, it pairs beautifully with narrow ivory churidar and gold kolhapuri sandals for a festive luncheon. For a more contemporary reading, have it tailored into a cropped blazer worn over a cream silk co-ord, with oxidised silver cuffs and pointed mules. The white ground reads bridal in traditional silhouettes yet thoroughly modern in structured western-influenced cuts.
Fabric & care
Pure silk brocade requires careful, consistent handling. Dry-clean only; home washing, even gentle hand-washing, risks loosening the supplementary weft threads that form the raised motifs. Store the fabric or garment folded in soft muslin, never plastic, away from direct light, which yellows white silk over time. Do not hang brocade for extended periods, as the weight of the supplementary weave causes distortion. Between wears, air briefly in shade. A light pressing on reverse, with a cotton cloth as buffer and iron set to silk, will restore the surface perfectly.
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