Thai Eight-Panel Kalaga with Inscriptions

Eight scenes, stitched in relief, with small figures rising right off the cloth.

This eight-panel kalaga with inscriptions comes from the Thailand / Burma border, early to mid 20th century, in cotton and velvet with metallic thread and sequins. Kalagas are padded, couched textile hangings long associated with Burma, often showing Buddhist tales and scenes of court life. Two rows of arched panels hold robed figures, winged beings, horses and trees, worked in pale, shimmering thread against dark grounds. A dense floral border surrounds them, then a plain terracotta-colored band. The surface looks richly textured. It measures 104 inches wide and 60.75 long.

It tells its stories without raising its voice.