Indian Textiles in the East


Book Description

"An ingenious new presentation of an old history."—Fiberarts The dazzling cloths presented here are the visual record of one of the great untold stories of Asian design history: the trade in Indian textiles to Southeast and East Asia. The chintzes made for export to Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are now well known; but for over a thousand years Indian cloths were traded for the spices and forest and mineral wealth of the East by Asian, Arab, and European merchants. Universally in demand, the textiles were designed to suit specific markets: attire for royalty, diplomatic gifts, displays for festive occasions, and clothing for rites of passage and other ceremonies. Outstanding among them are the patterned cottons—the famous chintzes—and the tie-dyed silk patola, reserved for rulers and nobility.




Woven Cargoes


Book Description

Here is a visual record of one of the great untold stories of Asian design history: the trade in Indian textiles to Southeast and East Asia. For over 1000 years Indian cloths were traded for spices and the forest and mineral wealth of the East by Asian, Arab and European merchants.




The Fabric of India


Book Description

"Published to accompany the exhibition The Fabric of India at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, from 3 October 2015 to 10 January 2016"--Title page verso.




Indian Textiles


Book Description

* Features Indian textiles pieces from the Karun Thakar Collection, and The Textile Museum and Cotsen Textile Traces Study Collection in Washington, DC* Published to accompany an exhibition at The Textile Museum at George Washington University in Washington, DC, opening January 2022The book features items from one of the world's foremost private collections of Indian textiles, the Karun Thakar Collection, together with key pieces from two recently united American collections, The Textile Museum and the Cotsen Textile Traces Study Collection in Washington, DC. The book and accompanying exhibition offer a unique approach to understanding Indian textile culture through reference to three distinct traditions: abstract, floral and figurative design.With essays by three leading international Indian textile curators, the publication's focus on textile ornament rather than date, region, usage, or technique provides new perspective and scholarship on this ancient artistic tradition. The book highlights the tradition's remarkable diversity, with objects ranging from folk embroideries to Mughal courtly weavings, and from early textiles traded to Egypt and Southeast Asia to 18th-century chintzes exported to Europe.




Textile Trades, Consumer Cultures, and the Material Worlds of the Indian Ocean


Book Description

This collection examines cloth as a material and consumer object from early periods to the twenty-first century, across multiple oceanic sites—from Zanzibar, Muscat and Kampala to Ajanta, Srivijaya and Osaka. It moves beyond usual focuses on a single fibre (such as cotton) or place (such as India) to provide a fresh, expansive perspective of the ocean as an “interaction-based arena,” with an internal dynamism and historical coherence forged by material exchange and human relationships. Contributors map shifting social, cultural and commercial circuits to chart the many histories of cloth across the region. They also trace these histories up to the present with discussions of contemporary trade in Dubai, Zanzibar, and Eritrea. Richly illustrated, this collection brings together new and diverse strands in the long story of textiles in the Indian Ocean, past and present.




Indian Ikat Textiles


Book Description

This volume deals in depth with Indian textiles in the ikat technique. It is based on the Victoria and Albert Museum's collection of ikats from all over India, many of which date from the mid-19th century, and represent aspects of weaving and dyeing that no longer survive in their places of origin. A complex form of resist-dyeing in which threads are patterned before weaving, ikat has been used in India since at least the early centuries AD. Over 100 pieces are discussed and illustrated, from the satin-weave mashurs of South India and the silk patola from Gujarat, to simple cotton saris from Orissa and Tamil Nadu and subtly-coloured rumals from Andhra Pradesh. Further sections explore the influence of Indian ikat on the textile traditions of other areas, including South-East Asia, the Middle East and Europe.




Indian Cotton Textiles in West Africa


Book Description

This book focuses on the significant role of West African consumers in the development of the global economy. It explores their demand for Indian cotton textiles and how their consumption shaped patterns of global trade, influencing economies and businesses from Western Europe to South Asia. In turn, the book examines how cotton textile production in southern India responded to this demand. Through this perspective of a south-south economic history, the study foregrounds African agency and considers the lasting impact on production and exports in South Asia. It also considers how European commercial and imperial expansion provided a complex web of networks, linking West African consumers and Indian weavers. Crucially, it demonstrates the emergence of the modern global economy.




Interwoven Globe


Book Description

Published in conjunction with an exhibition held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Sept. 16, 2013-Jan. 5, 2014.




Chintz


Book Description

In the past hundred years or so, 'chintz' has come to mean any floral printed furnishing fabric. Its origins as a hand-drawn and dyed fabric from India are often forgotten, but it is with these rare earlier chintzes that this book is concerned. It explores in detail the background and development of this beautiful technique and looks at the use of chintzes in Europe from the early 17th century to the mid-19th century, first as bed-curtains and wall-hangings and later for popular men's and women's dress. The V&A's collection, published for the first time in glorious colour and including close-up details, will interest interior designers, textiles students and those involved in fashion.




Silk and Cotton


Book Description

The traditional textiles of Central Asia are unknown treasures. Straddling the legendary Silk Road, this vast region stretches from Russia in the west to China in the east. Whether nomadic or sedentary, its peoples created textiles for every aspect of their way of life, from ceremonial objects marking rites of passage, to everyday garments, to practical items for the home. There were suzanis for the marriage bed; prayer mats; patchwork quilts; bridal ensembles; bags for tea, scissors, and mirrors; lovingly embroidered hats and bibs; and robes of every color and pattern. Author Susan Meller has spent years assembling the 590 textiles illustrated in this book. She documents their history, use, and meaning through archival photographs and fascinating travelers’ narratives spanning many centuries. Her book will be a revelation to designers, collectors, students of Central Asia, and travelers to the region. Silk and Cotton is destined to become a classic.