On the old Silk Route, I found Suzanis.........

Image courtesy of the Madeline Weinrib Atelier


I stumbled upon Suzanis when I was browsing through World Imports one day. Although this blog originally started out as a place where I could write about Indian and South Asian Art, Design and Architeture, I digress this time, to write about an embroidery tradition which had its origin in Uzbekistan, along the old Silk Route. And when you see these embroidered beauties, you will see why I would have an affinity for these textiles.

Although Suzanis are associated primarily with Uzbekistan, they seem to have been found all along the ancient Silk Route, from Sindh through northern Afghanistan to Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and as far west as Turkey. Embroidery was a craft that brought women together for the practical purpose of creating bedspreads and other household linen for the dowry of young girls. This was true of most ancient cultures. In Uzbekistan, the work of such embroidery began when a daughter was born and continued until her dowry was complete. In certain affluent provinces, the dowry was expected to include at least ten suzanis of varying sizes to serve different functions. Some were used as bed coverings, some as room dividers, or as prayer rugs or wrapping cloths.

The base fabric is traditionally a silk-cotton blend with a silk warp and cotton weft. (See my earlier post on Mashroo). The embroidery technique, using silk thread is done with two main types of stitches: the Basma or Bukhara couching which is like a satin stitch and can cover large areas; and the chain stitch which is done with a hook called the tambour. The base fabric is first washed with a soft 'tea wash'. The pattern is drawn on the fabric and was usually worked in panels, which were then assembled. This allowed for a division of labour on each piece. The silk threads used for embroidery are dyed with vegetable dyes - pomegranate, indigo, madder and sumac - again very similar to the dyes used in other indigenous fabric traditions (see my post on Kalamkari). The result is a piece of art with the most glorious mellowing of colours over time.
For a detailed description on this process, check out http://www.marlamallett.com/suzanis.htm
There is an excellent collection of antique suzanis on this site.

Also check out http://www.oldworldimports.net for more samples of suzanis.
Image courtesy of www.anahitagallery.com

Pat Stanton on Stanistan Designs combines vintage suzanis with beautiful furniture frames and the results are absolutely delicious. Check out her website at www.stanistandesign.com.

Preserving our Textile Traditions: The Calico Museum of Textiles

While I was writing my previous post, I started drifting back to the time when we had visited Ahmedabad in the early 80’s. The most vivid memory of the visit was a trip to see the Calico Museum of Textiles – My father had suggested that we take a trip to see the museum since we did not have much to do with ourselves during those holidays (needless to say it was before people got addicted to TV shows or video-games !!)
Gira Sarabhai, the daughter of philanthropist Ambalal Sarabhai, was a keen collector of fine old Indian textiles and had conceived establishing a Museum of Indian Textiles. In this endeavor, she collaborated with John Irwin, who was then keeper of the Indian Section of the prestigious Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It was appropriate that the museum, which was concerned with both the historical and technical study of Indian handicraft and industrial textiles, should be established in Ahmedabad, a town with a long history of fine woven, printed and embroidered textiles. By the early 50's however, the Museum started to concentrate its energy on the vast field of handicraft textiles.

The museum was like nothing I had expected. Set within the Sarabhai Retreat amid spacious lawns, the collection of old textiles was housed in two different structures: the Sarabhai-ni-Haveli, and another complex of buildings known as the Chauk. Dating back to 1930, the sprawling Haveli, with its inlaid-marble floors and spacious rooms situated within a picturesque garden, served for many years as the residence of the Sarabhai family. The Haveli now houses the vast collection of religious textiles and artifacts. The visitor is first greeted by a small reconstructed shrine to Shrinathji, before being guided to the gallery of Pichchwais and patachitras which record the stories of the Vallabh Sampradaya. The Haveli is also home to a comprehensive collection of miniatures, Jain artifacts and South Indian Bronzes. The Chauk, a complex of old buildings around a swimming pool has been transformed by facades of carved wood and mud construction to resemble typical traditional Gujarati houses. Kalamkaaris, Mughal court textiles, woven and brocaded fabrics, yarn resist-dyed textiles and tie-dyed textiles are all housed within the Chauk. Also displayed nearby are the larger pieces such as Mughal tents and carpets.

The museum is unique in the sense that it not only houses over 5 centuries of India’s rich textile heritage, it also does so in a setting that transports the visitor to another era. The design of the museum is itself beautiful as well as functional in the purpose that it serves. It is appropriate that these beautiful textiles are displayed in such an aesthetically pleasing setting. Much thought has gone into the preservation of these textiles which are therefore displayed in a strictly controlled environment. Light and humidity are carefully monitored as is the crowd at any given time. Not only is the museum important from the point of view of preserving the large collection of heritage textiles, it also serves as the leading source of reference material for surviving craftspeople. An ambitious Publications program was launched by the museum in its early days and has gained a world-wide reputation for its scholarly publications. Based on research by eminent Indian and International scholars, these publications have aimed at providing a focus and setting a standard for all who wish to see Indian textiles studied seriously from a historical as well as technical point of view.

To say that I was awestruck during my visit to the museum would be an understatement. Perhaps this was where my love of Indian textiles and design began.

Please visit the Calico Museum if you find yourselves in or around Ahmedabad.

Kalamkari

Kalamkari refers to a method of painting with vegetable and natural dyes on cotton or silk fabric with a bamboo pen or kalam. Hence the name kalamkari which translates as pen (kalam) work (kari) in Hindi/Urdu, and was most likely derived from trade relationships between Persian and Indian merchants as early as the 10th century. Kalamkari is native to the Coromandel coast of South India. Two major styles of Kalamkari emerged around Masulipatnam (near Hyderabad) and Sri Kalahasti, also in Andhra Pradesh, While the origins of kalamkari in Sri Kalahasti are unknown, evidence from old texts indicate that the art form flourished throughout the Deccan plateau between the 13th and 19th centuries. It is possible that Sri Kalahasti also enjoyed local patronage from the Sri Kalahasteeswara temple, a prominent Shiva temple. Temples were traditionally centers for art and culture.Therefore Kalamkari from Sri Kalahasti received a largely Hindu patronage, and artists in the area continue that tradition, depicting a variety of Hindu narrative themes from the ancient epics of the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Shiva Puranas. The Masulipatnam style evolved with the advent of Muslim rulers in the Deccan, and trade relations with the Persian Safavid Empire and brought a gradual inclusion of more intricate and delicate motifs like trees, creepers, flowers and leaves. Merchants and traders from around the world used Indian textiles, the majority of which were kalamkari, as a currency in the Spice Trade. European and East Asian markets demanded spices like nutmeg, clove, and pepper as well as aromatic woods and oils, which were available almost exclusively in parts of Southeast Asia and Indonesia. As time went on, Indian textiles were seen as luxury items in themselves, and a variety of textiles and textile-related products were sold to merchants throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia. the Portugese called it pintado, the Dutch used the name sitz, and the British preferred chintz. The name kalamkari is used prominently today, and is synonymous with both painted and hand blockprinted textiles that incorporate natural vegetable/organically-derived dyes.

Hand painted Kalamkari art is created on cotton textile using only natural vegetable dyes. The process involves seventeen painstaking steps. The cotton fabric is immersed in a mixture of myrabalam (resin) and milk to obtain a glossy finish. Intricate designs are sketched onto the fabric by artists using burnt tamarind twigs as pens, or 'kalams'. Typical colours used are reds, blues and mustard on earth tones giving Kalamkari fabrics their distinctive look. After each step, the fabric is rinsed repeatedly in clean water and dried. The end result is a beautiful, individually produced work of art that relies on the imagination of the artisans drawing inspiration from ancient Indian mythology or in more contemporary interpretations for clothing and home furnishings.

Since the base fabric is either cotton or silk, or in more recent years, on chiffons or crepes, Kalamkari on clothing has become synonymous with ethnic chic.

Check out this stunning selection from http://www.yncimports.com/