The textiles and dress of Gujarat in northwestern India are acclaimed for their design and craftsmanship. The sophisticated weaves, dyeing techniques, intricate embroideries, vibrant motifs and embellished garments, and the communities to which many of these are unique, have all been the subjects of extensive documentation. Textiles and dress play a central role in the construction of a visual identity of Gujarat and its people. This book examines the 'social life' of Gujarat's textiles, tracing the historical journey of cloth and dress up to the present day. It looks closely at dyed and painted textiles, and embroidery, and locates their place in culture, trade and commerce, and the role of entrepreneurship in the survival of these handmade textiles.
A lively and innovative collection of new and recent writings on the cultural contexts of textiles The study of textile culture is a dynamic field of scholarship which spans disciplines and crosses traditional academic boundaries. A Companion to Textile Culture is an expertly curated compendium of new scholarship on both the historical and contemporary cultural dimensions of textiles, bringing together the work of an interdisciplinary team of recognized experts in the field. The Companion provides an expansive examination of textiles within the broader area of visual and material culture, and addresses key issues central to the contemporary study of the subject. A wide range of methodological and theoretical approaches to the subject are explored—technological, anthropological, philosophical, and psychoanalytical, amongst others—and developments that have influenced academic writing about textiles over the past decade are discussed in detail. Uniquely, the text embraces archaeological textiles from the first millennium AD as well as contemporary art and performance work that is still ongoing. This authoritative volume: Offers a balanced presentation of writings from academics, artists, and curators Presents writings from disciplines including histories of art and design, world history, anthropology, archaeology, and literary studies Covers an exceptionally broad chronological and geographical range Provides diverse global, transnational, and narrative perspectives Included numerous images throughout the text to illustrate key concepts A Companion to Textile Culture is an essential resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students, instructors, and researchers of textile history, contemporary textiles, art and design, visual and material culture, textile crafts, and museology.
Textiles embellished with gold and silver have been desired and cherished worldwide since Antiquity. In the Indian subcontinent, too, the use of metal to enhance the value and beauty of cloth is part of an ancient tradition. Jewelled Textiles: Gold And Silver Embellished Cloth of India presents a rich selection of textiles and dresses ornamented with precious metals—gold and silver. These luxurious and often opulent textiles have always been associated with wealth, beauty, supremacy, ceremony and divinity in the subcontinent. Gold and silver embroidery in India is remarkable for the manifold styles in which the threads are manipulated to produce results on cloth surfaces, enhancing and ornamenting the character of the textile. The raw materials, techniques of surface application, and the final effects thus created are unique to different regions in the country where the embroidery techniques and printing with precious metals are classified by the local terminology. Techniques by which metals are applied to textile surface like Kamdani or Badla in Lucknow, Tilla in Jammu and Kashmir and parts of Western India, Danka and Gota Patti in Rajasthan, Zardozi and Vasli in Bhopal, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Delhi and other centres in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat, Mukke Ka Kaam in Rajasthan and Gujarat and Varak from different parts of the country are described in detail in the book. These techniques are illustrated with examples of skillfully executed pieces from museums and private collections. A veritable collector’s pride.
An evocative exploration of how travel - local and far away - can inform, inspire and enhance textile art. Travel has always featured heavily in textile art, from artists' 'travelling sketchbooks' to large-scale installations mapping coastal erosion or the effects of climate change. In this book, renowned textile artist Anne Kelly shows how to capture your travels, past and present, in stitch, with practical techniques sitting alongside inspiring images. She begins the book by discussing maps in textile art, including their iconography as well as incorporating actual maps into textile work. She then goes on to explore the influence of different cultures from across the globe on textile art. From India and Peru to Scotland and Scandinavia, the book shows how to harness traditional techniques, fabrics, motifs and colours for use in your own work. The chapter 'Stopping Places' captures the moments in time on a journey that can be distilled, remembered and documented to create stitched postcards, sketchbooks and other pieces. The final chapter, 'Space and the Imagination', explores the possibilities of space travel as a source of inspiration, and covers inner space too, with artists mapping their own emotional journeys. Including a wealth of practical tricks and techniques as well as exquisite photography of both Anne's own work and that of other leading textile artists, this fascinating book will inspire all textile artists, embroiderers and makers to use past travels to influence their work.
"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.
Textiles play a decisive role in history: attire not only indicates status, gender, ethnicity, and religion but illustrates how such boundaries are continuously being negotiated, shifted, and recreated. Fashionable Traditions captures the complex reality of Asian handmade textile production and consumption. From traditionalist discourse and cultural authenticity to fashion and market trends, the contributors to this collection demonstrate the multilayered influence of often contradictory forces. In-depth, ethnographic case studies reveal the entangled relationships between local artisans, external interventions, and consumers, while acknowledging the broader frameworks in which such relationships are situated. Together these stories offer a vivid account of the socio-economic, political, and cultural dynamics in various parts of Asia and emphasize that fashion is neither a Western prerogative nor do its roots reside solely in the West.
