palampore (bedcover), unknown maker from India

Indian colorfast printed cotton textiles, known as chintz, have navigated global markets for centuries. Like Chinese lacquer screens, these high-demand commodities gained an association with maritime transport along the Coromandel Coast in southeastern India. Part of a transoceanic trade cycle, Europeans traded Indian cottons for enslaved captives in West Africa, whom they forcibly brought to the Americas to cultivate crops for European consumption. Proceeds from these crops then furthered the purchase of textiles and goods in India.