An antique gold body ending in a wide charcoal grey pallu border.

Why this piece

Gold as the ground — the metallic tone carries the body itself here rather than sitting only at the edges — the rarest arrangement in this group.
Charcoal grey at the pallu — a wide, distinct grey border closes the drape, with copper picked up through it.
Flower buti — small woven figures repeating sparsely across the body and gathering through the pallu, dobby-set on the loom rather than applied to the surface.

The colourway

A metallic ground with a charcoal grey border is a restrained combination in a weave that usually reaches for colour, and it is the piece here that reads most modern. Copper in the border warms the grey where a silver would have chilled it.

How it is woven

Every piece is made end to end in Maheshwar, in the master-weaver households of Mominpura. A pit loom in Maheshwar, the weft going in by hand, and a dobby carrying the buti and the border. Nothing here is machine-woven. If you have been sent a powerloom piece before, this is the difference you can feel in the hand of the cloth.

Where the weave runs a little uneven, that is the hand at the loom rather than a defect. Every piece still goes through a pre-dispatch check before it is packed.

The border, and how it wears

This is a bugdi border, which means the woven border design reads the same on both faces — something you can check with your own hands when the piece arrives.

Weighed and published rather than described: 350 to 360 g at 44 to 46 GSM. The drape is soft from the first day and stays soft after cleaning, the pleats sit where you set them, and the semi-sheer body takes a petticoat underneath.

Specification

Total length: 6.3–6.5 m, including an 80–90 cm blouse piece
Width: 45–46 inches
Weight: 350–360 g, measured in-house
Fabric weight: 44–46 GSM
Body: semi-sheer; wear it with a petticoat
Drape: soft, holds its pleats, and stays soft after the first clean
Loom: pit loom, with the weft inserted by hand
Patterning: dobby-set, on body, border and pallu
Finishing: pallu kuchu, selvedge and edges finished; fall and pico on request
Woven in: Maheshwar, Khargone district, Madhya Pradesh
Country of origin: India
Net quantity: one saree with attached blouse piece
Care: Dry Clean Only

Care and storage

Professional dry clean only. Home washing is not recommended.
Air-dry in the shade, without wringing.
Iron inside out on a low-to-medium setting, under a cotton press cloth.
Store it wrapped in breathable cotton or muslin, in a cool dark cupboard.
Refold along fresh lines every three to six months.

Dispatch

This piece is held in stock rather than made to order, so hand weaving does not put you in a queue. About half of all orders leave the next day, most go within two to three days, and most orders inside India arrive in three to seven days.

A note on colour

This piece is an antique gold, with a wide charcoal grey pallu border. Screens, camera settings and the light a photograph was taken in all move a shade a little, so the piece that reaches you may sit slightly away from the image on this page. Every colour in this range has been tested for fastness on wash and rub.

Product details

Country of origin: India. Net quantity: one saree with attached blouse piece. Care: Dry Clean Only.

Antique Gold Pure Handloom Maheshwari Silk Saree, Charcoal Grey Pallu Border | Phulwari