Do you know that Dhaka is not the only place that produces muslin? Or that in Shantipur, West Bengal, there is a way of starching the yarn that makes the threads “hard as bone”? These are just some of the textile stories that captivate visitors to Chintz Muslin and the Forgotten Queen, an ongoing exhibition of textiles from bygone eras.
Curated by Vishambhara, a collective run by textile expert Purvi Patel, it has Kolkata-based Saha Works and Chennai-based Aksha Weaves as partners. This is her third show and in Kochi, she has collaborated with Tina Appen from Bengaluru, who recreates English rose motifs in sarees from Kerala, and Shilpi from Jaipur, who uses indigo dye and Sanganer block prints for this show. work together.
chintz embroidery
“Vishambhara supports skilled artisans with design interventions based on history and research,” says textile expert Purvi, who works with 22 artisans at her studio in Bengaluru. Over three decades she recreated and recreated early and mid-19th century needlecraft. Kochi, she says, is an appropriate location for a show on 17th-century chintz, because “spices as well as cloth were traded from here. The colonists were patrons of chintz.”
antique embroidery
Purvi’s collection is inspired by 19th-century Baluchi tapestries and Mochi and Kutchi nomadic embroideries. He has also found inspiration in art pieces at the Calico Museum in Delhi, the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) in New York.
“Look at the form of the mango in Indian culture. There are many other versions of the mango, such as elongated, which is expressed as paisley in European chintz.” Purvi says.
Full Aquarius Motif
Shantipur Weaves
Amitra Sudan Saha of Saha Works and her team are working with weavers from Shantipur near Kolkata to revive the art of weaving, starching and dyeing. “Only women were engaged in the work of weaving the hand-spun yarn, which was like a spider’s web. Rice gruel was applied to them and the threads then became hard as bone,” explains Amitra, adding that Shantipur saris and dhotis were daily wear, known for their strength.
Saha is showcasing the famous Malmal Jamdani to break the myth of Dhakai Jamdani. Amitra says that muslin is produced “in the entire Brahmaputra region including Bihar” and not just in Dhaka. “It has various names such as Mulmul, Nayansukh, Khaddar…” Saha has revived pre-Mughal motifs such as Laxmi Ghat Or the vessel of abundance. “Over the years, there have been various variations in the motifs, according to the imagination of the weaver. Amitra’s team works with 150 community weavers, who are engaged in the 13 processes used to make sarees. “We started our restoration project, Gunavalli, after the pandemic.”
Coromandel Coast Clothing
Kodalikrooppur Block Print
For the past six years, Shreya Mishra’s Chennai-based Aksha has worked to recreate the textiles of the Coromandel Coast. In Kochi, the team is putting on an exhibition of clothes used by the Nayak rulers of Thanjavur.
Kodalikrooppur fabrics – once used as sarees, turbans and dhotis – had limited production between the 17th and 19th centuries, as they were intended only for the royal family. With British rule, the royal looms were closed and some of the cloth and fabric now exist only as museum pieces at the Met, the V&A, the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia and the Calico Museum in Ahmedabad. “The specialty of the sari is that it is hand-drawn like Kalamkari, and has a resistant-dye over Jamdani,” explains Vipindas, co-founder of Aksha. “We have recreated the version and used block printing on it.”
The Aksha team has also restored the Nayak Kalamkari originated in Ariyalur and Thiruvidaimarudur when it gets the GI tag in 2021. “We have identified the motif in European floral chintz,” says Vipin. They are currently working on reviving the ruby originated in Madurai. They have a range of sarees, kurtis and clothing on show.
the british rose
The English rose was a very popular motif on sarees worn by church-goers in Kerala. “I grew up seeing these flowers embroidered on sarees, and my collection in pastel colors celebrates this,” recalls Tina Appen. The Bengaluru-based designer recreated the motif on natural fabrics such as Bhagalpuri linen, chanderi and Kerala Kasavu. Made from and also made ‘smart’. Dresses ‘indo-western style.
indigo blue gold
“Indigo, also known as ‘blue gold’, was a much-coveted commodity between the 17th and 19th centuries,” says Brij Ballabh of Shilpi, the award-winning Jaipur-based textile brand that deals with indigo dye and Sanganer block prints . , Today 8 million tonnes of synthetic indigo is being used globally. Brij, who has been researching natural indigo for eight years, says Shilpi’s focus is on sustainability and taking traditional Sanganeri printing forward. Along with clothes and costumes, they are also displaying Indigo Cakes to raise awareness.
, Till May 20 at David Hall, Fort Kochi,