Pair of Standard Cotton Pillow Shams in Red and Blue, "Rajasthani Remembrance"

It can take up to three weeks to complete the laborious handmade process of ajrak textile printing. Dozens of hand-carved blocks are used to stamp a resist paste onto the cloth, which is then dyed and laid in the sun to dry. The longer the dye sets, the more vibrant the color. Then the cloth is washed to remove the resist, and the process begins again with a different block pattern. All told it can take 30 separate steps to achieve the intricate floral and geometric patterns for which ajrak is known. The traditional color palette of crimson red, indigo blue, and white on this pair of standard cotton pillow shams is said to represent the universe: red for the earth, white for clouds, and blue for the sky, the universe itself.