Print this page

Lap Cloth (Bhutan)

Lap cloth from Bhutan, c. 1900. Lap cloth from Bhutan, c. 1900. Copyright Victoria & Albert Museum, London, acc. no. IM.22-1933.

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London houses a lap cloth (localled called pangkheb) from Bhutan. It is made of unbleached cotton with woven and embroidered geometrical patterns in terracotta and indigo-coloured cotton threads. It is almost 2.5 m long. It dates to about 1900.

Pangkheb used to be the most widely used panels in Bhutan. They served as aprons, but also as altar covers, and even in lieu of taxes.

See also a TRC Needles entry on an embroidered hand cloth from Bhutan.

V&A online catalogue (retrieved 2nd September 2016).

WV

Last modified on Tuesday, 02 May 2017 20:05