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Sacred Heirloom Textile (mawa or ma'a)

Unknown artist, 14th/15th century

4.89 m × 96 cm

Longer than a car. Stood on end it is 2.9 people tall.

Against things you know the size of

Height: 96 cm
Width: 4.89 m
Medium: Cotton, plain weave; block printed resist and mordant dyed
Kind: Textile
Made in: India
Where the measurement comes from: Measured by the museum. The dimension is the one recorded by the institution that holds the work.
As the museum records it: 489 × 95.6 cm (192 1/2 × 37 5/8 in.)
Why this differs from the record: Recorded as 96 cm × 4.89 m. Hung the other way up, because the photograph of it is.
Credit: Purchased with funds provided by the Alsdorf Foundation; James and Marilynn Alsdorf Acquisition Fund

Five questions, answered from its own record. What is AGAI?

How big is it?: 4.89 m × 96 cm. Longer than a car. Measured by the museum.
When was it made, and when is it everyone’s?: Made 14th/15th century. It is in the public domain, and The Art Institute of Chicago publishes it for open use.
Whose is it?: Everyone’s to see. It is held by The Art Institute of Chicago: Purchased with funds provided by the Alsdorf Foundation; James and Marilynn Alsdorf Acquisition Fund.
How was it made?: Cotton, plain weave; block printed resist and mordant dyed, made in India.
Who speaks for it?: Its record at The Art Institute of Chicago. Measured by the museum. This gallery adds nothing it cannot cite.

One email. The smallest thing in the collection, the largest, and two that hang well together.

Scored on colour, shape, era and scale, the same way the gallery hangs them.