Large fragment of a silk wrapper

Unknown artist

Baluchar saris were manufactured in Baluchar in the 18th and 19th centuries. Characteristic was their ground tone in purple, violet, purple and sometimes dark blue or chestnut brown, with additional accents in gold/yellow and sometimes a little green, white and red. Since the process is time-consuming (up to six months) and the base material expensive (silk), the saris were intended for an upper class, Hindu and Muslim.\ Today, these saris are made in numerous colors and also come from Ahmedabad (Gujarat) and Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh).\ The central field shows rows, often in diagonals, of small flowers. The anchal(a) or pallav/pallu (the decorative end of a saree) is most characteristic of this type of saree, with one or more large butas and surrounding panels of woven-in figures ranging from Indians to colonial Europeans, men or women, nobles and posh ladies, soldiers or carriages.‖ Buta (diminutive buti) literally means flower. The word is used to refer to the highly stylized conical floral forms (curled up 'pine cone', crocus or mango) also known as Paisley motif and particularly known from Kashmir fabrics. The name for buta in Bengali is kalka.\Butedar or butidar means 'with flowers, floral pattern'.\Baluchar is the name of a place in Murshidabad (greater place) district, West Bengal.