Shikargah
A Banarasi brocade design that shows a hunt, with animals, hunters and trees among flowers and vines.
Also: shikargah design, hunting scene
Shikargah comes from Persian shikar, hunt, and gah, place. In Banarasi weaving it is a design of a hunting scene, with riders, elephants, tigers, deer and birds set among trees and flowers. The scene follows the style of Mughal painting, in which hunts were a common subject. It is woven as a brocade, usually with zari and coloured silk on a silk ground, and it was made for wealthy buyers. It is an unusual choice among sarees, and it can be found on pallus, borders and the whole body. The work is slow and needs a complex jacquard arrangement.