Description: Block printed head scarf of chanderi cloth, a blend of cotton weft and tussah or tasar silk (Antheraea sp.) warp, made in Jaipur, Rajasthan, by a family highly skilled in block printing.  They used old blocks that date back generations and that are intricate, producing a detailed design.  Depending on colors and pattern, some prints are superimposed four to six times to achieve these designs.  Purchased in November 2010 by mail-order.  Hand loomed.

Production Location: Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

Measurement: 54cm x 214cm

Description: A dupatta (woman's shawl) composed of reeled muga silk (Antheraea assamensis)) weft and reeled tropical tasar silk (Antheraea paphia = A. mylitta) warp.  Handwoven in Assam. Purchased in January 2005 in Guwahati, Assam, by well-known Textile expert Lenore Blackwood of Sydney.  Purchased from her by mail-order in June 2010.  Geometric damask patterns in black are reversible. Correction: Although Mrs. Blackwood believed the original merchant in Assam, and re-sold this textile as tussah x muga, the warp and weft fibers are clearly identical under high magnification.  It is either pure tropical tasar (Antheraea paphia) or pure Chinese tussah (A. perbyi) that was colored to resemble muga.  This cloth is thus an example of imitation muga or counterfeit muga.

Production Location: Assam, India

Measurement:77cm x 230 cm