Lambani Mirrorwork Runner Maroon

In the Sandur region of North Karnataka, Lambani women embroider as a form of self-declaration. Descended from Banjara nomads who traveled from the deserts of Rajasthan, they carry their identity in thread and mirror. This maroon runner is hand-embroidered on cotton by Lambani artisans, each mirror hand-set, each thread placed by the same hands that stitch their own clothing in the same tradition.

The Lambani community of Karnataka's northern districts has been embroidering for as long as memory holds. Their traditional dress, full red skirts heavy with mirrored panels, embroidered borders, stacked silver at the wrist, is not costume but costume-as-archive, each pattern specific to a family or a tribe. This maroon runner draws from that archive. The hand-set mirrors catch light the way their jewelry does: deliberately, intermittently, in motion.

It is a runner that lives at the table as an object in its own right. Not a backdrop for what sits on top of it, the thing itself. On a plain table, the maroon is authoritative. With candles, the mirrors multiply the flame. It asks to be noticed, and it has earned that.

Lambani Hand Embroidery · Mirror Work · North Karnataka · Cotton

Care Instructions

• Machine wash cold, gentle cycle.
• Do not bleach. Line dry or tumble dry low.
• Iron on medium while slightly damp.
• Wash separately first two washes.