Sri Threads » ralli

A Wonderful, Very Large Ralli

Stephen — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:51:13 +0000

When I choose a ralli, the quilted cotton patchworks of Sindh, I choose them not for their proper front, but for what is meant to be their back. I’m showing a smashing one here today.To me, this arrangement of color and form is really sophisticated and marvelous, and I prefer the “wrong side” of a ralli to its intricately patchworked and appliqued side, shown here.Here’s another in my collection with a really unbelievably beautiful “wrong” side.Rallis come in all sizes and shapes and, therefore, they are used differently according to their size: large ones such as the one shown here are bedcovers; smaller ones like this, could have been a sitting cushion or perhaps a dowry bag that has been opened.This one measures 78″ x 66″ or 198 cm x 168 cm. It was most likely made in the mid-twentieth century. And of course it’s completely hand stitched.

A Huge and Fabulous Ralli

Stephen — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 11:45:02 +0000

This is an instance where scale is important. Below is a shot of a huge, exceptionally good Pakistani ralli quilt which I’m trying to show in the context of a room to give a sense of its large size. You really have to be standing in front of the piece to be wowed by it, but stay with me.
Shown in these photos is its back: its fantastic, glorious back, a smattering of pale colors, abraded surfaces, soft floral patterns and the rich patina of lots of wear.Again, as I look at the real thing, then compare it to these photos, the impact of scale–which is important to truly appreciate this piece–is lost. But even in miniature, I think this ralli has a lot to say.

The cloth is very soft from wear. The colors are very soft, too. And the arrangement of the colors, patterns and size of the patches is, well–these are the reasons I’m posting images. I think you see what I see.

This piece measures 82″ x 62″ or 208 cm x 157.5 cm.Finding this rare and beautiful ralli quilt was a thrill. Now I want to find it the right home.And if you’d like to sign up for my weekly emailing announcing new items posted on our webshop (coming soon–I promise!), please drop me a line at stephen@srithreads.com

A Faded, Abraded and Beautifully Colored Layered Ralli

Stephen — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 21:01:08 +0000

Today I am showing a magnificently worn, off-square, stitched and appliqued cotton ralli which was made in the Sindh region of Pakistan. A ralli is a quilted textile made from layers of discarded cloth; rallis are sewn into various sizes for various purposes. This piece measures 29″ x 29″ or 73.5 cm x 73.5 cm and was most likely used as a seating cushion of sorts.The name ralli is derived from the local Sindhi word ralanna which means to mix or to connect. Rallis can be used as dowry items as well as symbol of a family’s wealth.This ralli is magnificently destroyed by wear; the layers of this quilted cloth are all exposed by years of abrasion and use, so colors that were once hidden are now revealed through the action of usage and wear.

The strong diagonal composition of this ralli is dynamic–and unusual. The soft colors are just gorgeous.

Those of you familiar with the Japanese resist dye technique, shibori, will see similarities between the areas of abrasion on this ralli, below, and the shibori technique called mokume. Mokume shibori is achieved by sewing a running stitch, bundling and pulling tight the stitched cloth and dyeing it, the result being a motif that suggests wood grain.

This strange and wonderful ralli most likely dates to the middle of the twentieth century.

Better with Age

Stephen — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:06:05 +0000

It seems with folk art–or with certain old textiles–it’s not just its age that burnishes the piece with a rich luster, it’s also the wear to the piece by its former owners or its maker that lends it character. It’s this warmth from human contact that endows a piece its soulfulness.Today I am showing a piece that exemplifies this idea. It’s a Pakistani ralli, it measures 27″ x 26″/ 68.5 cm x 66 cm, it most likely dates to mid-last-century, and it’s probably a sitting mat. It is stitched together from old, cotton cloth which has been layered and secured with many tight rows of running stitches. The face of the cloth, seen in the fifth photo below, shows applique and some fancy embroidery work.For me, the beauty of this piece is in its abrasion and fading, both qualities working in concert and leaving behind some kind of strange and beautiful delicacy.Years and years of soft and steady wear have created a kind of translucency to these layers that is inimitable.

Notice how the fancy embroidery stitches remain very much intact as the cloth around them has sloughed off over time. It’s almost like we are seeing soft, geometric fossils.

The color palette we see here today was never meant to be seen: how could the maker know that in fifty years time the cloth would reveal its layers in a tight spectrum of pale hues? What we see today is not what she saw when she stitched and composed this ralli.

I can’t imagine that this piece looked better when it was new. I am sure that the many hands that touched this piece and the flow of decades that have nourished it have elevated this piece from a simple sitting mat to a textile eloquent in subtlety and resonant with new beauty.

An Explosion of Pakistani Ralli Quilts

Stephen — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:26:44 +0000

A client stopped by to look at my collection of ralli quilts from Sindh, a region that straddles the Pakistan/India border. I pulled out all the quilts so we could look at them, and they ended up in a big pile–and I thought this haphazard arrangement showed off their diverse colors and patterns really nicely.

These rallis all happen to be bedcovers, but using the same technique of piecing and quilting, the ladies of Sindh would also fashion bags, saddle blankets and other household items.

The photos shown on this post show the proper fronts of the rallis, which are always based on a kind of repeat-pattern geometric design using scraps of cotton cloth as the medium. Very often, however, the backs of rallis employ a more expressionistic and less formalized piecing of repurposed cloth— and the backs are generally more to my liking.

Notice the tremendous amount of piecing, applique work and hand stitching that make up each of these rallis.

This Wednesday, on my website, I’ll be offering one of these beauties for sale. I selected to show a ralli with a beautifully composed “front” and a back that is stylistically very different from the formalized design of the front.

Stay tuned.

A Collection of Shape Resist and Tie-Dyed Indian Turbans: Lahariya, Mothara and Bandhani

Stephen — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 15:06:30 +0000

The flinty light of today’s rainy spring day makes for a subdued atmosphere to present a collection of exuberantly colored Indian turbans that were dyed and worn in the bright desert sun of Rajasthan.

This is a tight little group of mothara, lahariya and bandhani turbans: generally speaking you can characterize the shape resist techniques as such: mothara , very simply put is pleated and twisted on two diagonals and can yield a complex and dazzling criss-cross effect. Lahariya–which literally means “waves”– shows an intricate chevron-like pattern, and bandhani is what is called tie-dye.

Three madder-dyed bandhani turbans are positioned on the right side of the group: do they seem familiar in design? Through a circuitous history of trade and travel, bandhani morphed into the present-day bandanna.

The group of turbans sits in a mended wooden trough from Gilgit, Pakistan; the trough sits on a collection of ralli quilts from Sindh, an area that traverses Pakistan and India.