Pipali work-Applique art of Odisha
Applique work is one of the oldest craft done using fabric. There are many forms of applique work practiced in India, among those,Pipali work of Odisha is an ancient one. Odisha is famous for some unique art like, Patachitra , also famous for some fabric art like making of hand woven Ikkat and Pipli work.
Pipli work : Colorful applique
Pipli work is colorful.Almost all colors are used in this. Here you can see the use of different colored clothes in Pipli work:
Origin of Pipli applique art:
This art of applique dates back to 10th century AD. The Pipli is a village near Bhubaneshwar (the capital of Odisha). This place is the origin of Pipli applique art. This handicraft is related to the famous Jaganatha Yathra of Puri. History says that this colorful applique work was done to decorate Jagannatha Ratha and temple during rituals.
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| Image courtesy -Google images:Pipli -work fabric covering Jaganath Ratha |
After independence , this art of applique work started declining, because of the loss of royal patronage. But now it is again in demand , as the artists have started making many household and decorative items like bedsheets,purses, , wall hangings, pillow covers, lampshades and tablecloth using Pipli art.
Patterns and Motifs used in Pipli work:
In making pipli applique work, the traditional colors Red, Yellow , Green and Black are used. But nowadays, to accommodate current users’ requirement , other colors are also used. Traditionally the motifs used are flowers, birds, elephant, vine designs ,geometric patterns etc. This is embellished with mirror work. We can find many variations in this applique art. Recently I visited an exhibition. Here are some variations in Pipli art:
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| Wall hanging with motifs of human beings |
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| Purse with a small house and girl |
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| Wall hanging with tree design. The artist told me its auspicious and lucky to keep this 🙂 |
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| i-Pad cover with house motif |
And here is the artist selling his products:
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| Artist with his products |
Coming up with some more posts on different handicrafts and some of my works too.
Until then,
Love , laugh and live the life to the fullest,
-Ranjana
Beautiful work.
I feel to revive it , it should be used during yatras such as Jaganath's.
Thank you
Good to know that there are different kinds of applique works..pipali is really beautiful. .thanks for sharing the info 🙂
Yes, pipali is really beautiful
Thank you for sharing this lovely work. Some years ago there was an exhibition of work like this in London, and a day workshop that I went on. I made a 'Pipli' embroidery of a fish that I gave to my nephew as a birthday present. The teachers came from India and they brought some lovely examples of the techniques with them to show us. They told us how the applique designs work told a story of the life of the embroiderers and their surroundings.
Kind regards,
Jane
Thank you Jane. Pipli embroidery is really beautiful and you must have enjoyed a lot while learning this applique work
Wonderful that you shared this Ranjana .. It's beautiful ! I know about Ikat and patachitra but PIPLI as an art form is new to me . All I know about the word PIPLI is the movie 'Peepli Live' !
PS. Is it similar to patchwork ..it seemed like that in the purse design … .
This is also an art work from Odisha…Incredible India 🙂
I love this handicraft, I have a few of this in my collection.
Lovely captures Ranjana.
Thank you Dear
Very beautiful and artistic.
Thank you
Looks wonderful. I think we can buy and make a lot of good household things with this artwork. I would love to have cushions made of Pipli work.
Definitely Saru, the cushions with Pipli applique work would look awesome
Beautiful Craft.
Thank you