Unknown Maker, Gujarati

Probably made by a Rabari woman in Gujarat, western India, this ghagra (skirt) is embroidered with ovals in yellow, green, black, and white. The Rabari people are an Indigenous group from South Asia, now along India and Pakistan’s shared border. Although currently settled in urban areas, they were originally nomadic and agriculturalist, with embroidered patterns referencing traditional parts of life. The top line of interlaced designs is called bavaliyo. This motif symbolizes local babul trees that shaded Rabaris from the sun and fed their herds. Other patterns include flowers that resemble abstracted boteh, a tree-of-life motif from Central and South Asia.