Untitled, ca. 1970s

Handwoven wool and cotton, 132 x 45 ½ x 3/4 in.

Nelly Sethna used her skills as a weaver to create new visual languages and transcend conventional boundaries in post-independence India. In 1957, following a meeting in Bombay with pioneering Finnish American textile designer Marianne Strengell, Sethna earned a scholarship to study at the renowned Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where she became immersed in Scandinavian modernism and Strengell’s textural approach to fiber arts. Sethna embraced designs from the natural world, transforming traditional weaving materials, such as wool and silk yarns, with additional tonal and textural accents. “There are studio weavers whose works look like paintings,” she once said. “But weaving, for me, is displaying the conditioning method and thread count in myriad forms and styles.” This ethos is evident in Untitled, which recalls traditional kilim rug patterns through its vibrant geometric design and abstract symbolism. The intricate tapestry is adorned with an interlaced composition including two hooked triangles above six rows of hooked patterns. Breaking away from traditional flat weaves, Sethna included a knotted pile finish to the work, which creates a striking presence.