Sonepuri Cotton Saree Ivory Maroon Chariot Buti

A handwoven Sonepuri cotton saree from the looms of Sonepur and Bargarh districts in western Odisha The body is a soft ivory cotton scattered with all over chariot and paisley buti in deep maroon small detailed motifs that reference temple iconography The hem closes with a black temple triangle band and a maroon paisley running border with the same border treatment repeating on the pallu To recognise this as handloom Sonepuri look at the buti placement On a powerloom print every motif sits in a mathematical grid on a hand printed handloom Sonepuri the motifs sit slightly off axis the printer aligned each block by eye The maroon dye has soaked into the yarn rather than sitting on the surface so the reverse of the cloth shows a faint mirror of the motifs The temple triangle border at the hem has hand pulled colour fast warp threads and you can feel a slight ridge along the border where the warp density is higher than the body The cotton itself has the loose breathable hand of pit loom weaving heavier than a mill cotton at the same thickness Sonepur weavers have produced this style of fine buti cotton for generations as wedding trousseau wear The motif language draws directly from the Konark Sun Temple chariot and the Jagannath ratha temple iconography reduced to small repeating prints A warm festive saree for housewarmings family pujas daytime weddings and Onam or Pongal lunches Pair with a plain maroon or black blouse a long jhumka set in gold or oxidised silver and a simple gajra in the hair