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Glossary

Wasli

Also written · vasli

What is Wasli?

Wasli is the laminated paper support of Indian miniature painting. Several sheets of handmade paper are pasted together with starch, dried under weight, and burnished with an agate stone until the surface is hard and faintly glossy. The thickness keeps the sheet flat under layers of opaque pigment; the burnish lets a squirrel-hair brush draw an unbroken line.

A miniature painting on wasli: the adoration of Goddess Lakshmi.
A miniature painting on wasli: the adoration of Goddess Lakshmi.

Related terms

Objects catalogued under this term

No object in the published catalogue carries this term yet. The catalogue is being written object by object.