20th century

Chope Phulkari

Artist/maker unknown

This is a special type of wedding phulkari known as a chope, characterized by its large size and the use of a stepped double running stitch that creates the same pattern on both sides of the cloth. The thread is most often gold-colored to represent prosperity and the khaddar (hand woven cloth) is always deep red to symbolize health and fertility (red being the auspicious wedding color used throughout South Asia). Traditionally a chope is made soon after a girl’s birth by either her maternal grandmother or her mother and presented to her at the time of her wedding by her maternal grandmother or uncle.