Sample listingFamily Workshop
Handloom Baluchari silk saree₹8,500
Baluchari georgette saree₹4,200
Baluchari tussar saree₹6,000
Bankura, West Bengal
Baluchari Saree
GI Tagged
Textile
Confidence: high
A handloom saree, usually in silk or cotton, whose pallu and border carry finely woven jacquard scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. It is named after the village of Baluchar but is GI-registered with reference to Bankura district, and today Bishnupur and its surroundings are the only place where authentic Baluchari sarees are produced. The craft was revived in Bishnupur in the 1950s after weavers migrated from Murshidabad, and it flourished under Malla patronage. A buyer gets a storytelling textile in which the mythological scene is woven, not printed.
Typical price: ₹2000-15000
Buying tip: Check that the epic scene on the pallu is actually woven (visible from the reverse side) rather than printed, and prefer pieces with the GI tag and Silk Mark. Bishnupur loom shops and GI-registered sellers online are the safest sources.
Image: PRITAMDUTTA20 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Where it comes from
Sub-regions
Bishnupur
Grounding
Sources
- https://curiousindian.in/the-mythological-world-woven-inside-a-baluchari-saree/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baluchari_sari
- https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/10488/baluchari-sarees-of-west-bengal-history-motifs-how-to-identify-the-authentic-ones
- https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2024/Jan/04/three-varieties-of-handloom-sarees-in-west-bengal-get-gi-tag-2647857.html
3 shops
Sellers
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Sample listingCooperative
Baluchari silk saree₹9,800
Baluchari art-silk saree₹5,500
Baluchari cotton saree₹2,400
Sample listingArtisan
Antique Baluchari silk saree₹14,500
Baluchari tussar saree₹7,200