This canopy was one of the many richly decorated textile furnishings used at the Indian court. It would have been suspended over the gaddi, the textile used as the rulers seat. The canopy represented divine sanction and protection, and also helped to mark out the royal space within the court. The use of a canopy to denote kingship has a very long history in India, originating in the basic need to shield the ruler from the heat of the sun but evolving into a symbolic decorative structure that was often use in interior courtly settings.