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Kantha Embroidery of Bengali Region
Kantha is a centuries-old tradition of stitching patchwork cloth from rags, which evolved from the thrift of rural women in the Bengali region of the sub-continent – today the eastern Indian states of West Bengal and Orissa, and Bangladesh. One of the oldest forms of embroidery originating from India, its origins can be traced back to the pre-Vedic age (prior to 1500 BCE).
“Kantha” refers to both the style of running stitch, as well as the finished cloth. It was a craft that was practiced by women of all rural classes, “the rich landlord’s wife making her own elaborate embroidered quilt in her leisure time and the tenant farmer’s wife making her own thrifty coverlet, equal in beauty and skill.” It was never commissioned by kings, nor ordered by landed gentry, but passed down in learning and dowry from mother to daughter.
