Painting on cloth is a traditional Indian Art form, starting from making of kalamkari textiles, examples of which we can see from the Ajanta cave paintings of the 6th century AD.
 
One form of paintings on cloth of which the LD museum has a sizable and important collection are the remarkable monumental Jain paintings often called chitrapatas, and specifically called the vastrapatas. There are also diagrams of yantra’s and mandalas used for meditation by monks. Pilgrimage pata’s or banners used for laity in temple worship and the image of the Jain cosmos in the form of a human being are important pieces of the LD collection. 

Pichhwais and Thangkas form another category of cloth paintings. Pichhwai’s are the painted backdrops made for the Krishna temple at Nathdwara. Painting in a variety of subjects, using hand treated cotton cloth and pigment paint. Thangkas are Buddhist paintings on cloth used for meditation or teaching.