WHAT IS THIS? LARGE (52 x 27.5) PATCHWORK INDIA? WORK

This was in a box in a storage unit a friend won at auction. What is it?
Measures 52" x 27.5"
There is no opening in the back so it's not a slip cover for a big pillow?!

 

Prayer rug????

 

Wall hanging? Indian wall hanging???

 

Looks like a very nice handmade decorative piece from India, my guess Rajasthan.
Would look great in a Hippie interior.

 

That colour looks typical of Rajasthan, as does the embroidery and bullion work.

 

Why didn't I think of that, Rajasthan is home to a Gypsy nation called the Lambani/Banjara. They wear very colourful clothing with a lot of patchwork.



Gypsies are originally an artisan and musician/dancer people from the border region of India and Pakistan.
According to a Medieval Persian book many were taken from there to the Persian royal court to perform. They were given land and seeds as payment, but not being farmers, they had no idea how to work the land and sow seed. As a result they became homeless and penniless. In their homeland the political situation had changed, so they couldn't go back.
From then on they were forced to travel the world, dancing and making music. No real home and facing a very uncertain future.
There are now four main branches, one in India, one in the Kaukasus and Russia, one in most of Europe, and one in North Africa and Spain. They also made it across the oceans, sometimes as slaves, a fate many suffered in Europe as well. Slavery has had a detrimental effect on Gypsy culture in parts of Eastern Europe and Spain.
Up to 3 million were murdered during WWII.
India has now put itself forward as home nation and formal representative of all Gypsies in international matters.

They never went to Ireland, btw. People calling themselves Irish Gypsies are not real Gypsies.

 

That's it! Thank you!