India-made lantana elephants in the US don a traditional hand-embroidered ceremonial blanket
A herd of hundred Indian elephants are journeying across the United States, carrying messages of coexistence. As a part of The Great Elephant Migration, a global fundraising adventure to amplify Indigenous knowledge and inspire the human race, to share space, The Real Elephant Collective's artisans created elephant life-sized sculptures from the lantana grass last year.
It is a public art exhibit which launched in July 2024 in Newport, RI, and the 5,000-mile journey, from east to west coast will culminate in Beverly Hills on August 1. The life-size sculptures were made by Indigenous artisans in the Nilgiri Hills of Southern India, using dried lantana camara, an invasive, toxic shrub that has been destroying wildlife habitats.
Joining the movement,
Ritu Kumar
has offered a powerful expression of cultural memory and ecological harmony.
Her ceremonial blanket bridges centuries of Indian textile tradition with the spirit of the campaign. This one-of-a-kind textile is hand-embroidered using the intricate techniques of ari, zardozi, and kashida. It is brought to life with gold dori, mica mirrors, and antique metal sequins. On the reverse, printed linings in the bandhej tradition are finished with ornate silver and gold tassels.
The design pays homage to painted and printed cottons and reimagines the architectural grace of kanaats, the handwoven tent panels once used in royal courts.
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This one-of-a-kind textile by Ritu Kumar is hand-embroidered using the intricate techniques of ari, zardozi, and kashida
'In safeguarding India's age-old traditions, we've created a ceremonial blanket for this journey that unites the preservation of culture with the protection of wildlife,' says Ritu Kumar. 'It reflects India's enduring aesthetics and its history of textile excellence. Hand-embroidered with care and purpose, it honors the spirit of coexistence that this initiative celebrates.'
Auctioned as part of the migration's fundraising initiative, the piece condenses over 2,000 hours of artisanal labour. It brings together regional legacies including Rajasthani bandhej, Gujarati ajrakh brocade, and Kashmiri jamawar paisleys into a single textile. This ceremonial textile stands not only as a work of art, but as a call to remember what we inherit and what we are called to protect.
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