MEGHWAL EMBROIDERY

DUE TO ITS location on the migratory routes from Central Asia,Africa,Afganistan and Pakistan to India,The Thar Desert has been subject to a variety of cultural influences that have shaped its crafts-notably embroidery,bandhej,(tie-dye),block printing and pottery.
Despite the later division of the Thar region through the creation of political boundaries,the crafts of the Thar continue to share a common vocabulary and sensibility,a phenomenon perhaps best exemplifiedd by the embroidery and applique of the Meghwal,an artisan community who proctice weaving,leather tanning and wood work.The Meghwal migrated from Pakistan to Kachchh and Rajasthan;a Significant number have settled in the villages of the Bajju region of Bikaner district.Embroidery forms a key component of their visual culture as it is executed on products that are worn or given during marriage and on dowry objects.Consequently, the embroidery make use of mirrors and is characterized by its refined craftsmanship,dense coverage, rich colours,and elaborated motifs and finished edges.Meghwal embroidery may be broadlyd classified as pako,or solid and permanent, and kacho,or temporary.

Detail of a bokani,headscarf embroidered for the groom.The peacoak is regarded as a noble bird and is symbolic of a bridegroom.Executed in suf embroidery consisting of triangular units done in surface darning stitch.Stitched from the reverse side over counted threads of the base cloth,with floss silk that rests on the face side,covering the entire surface of the unit and the back serves as an anchor.

Inset Wall painting:the peacock motif used in suf embroidery.

The pako tradition utilizes geometrical forms,densely covered embroidery of chain stitch variations and herringbone stitch,and block printed outlines for the embroidery.Kacho embroidery is distinguished by its use of counted thread work techniques such as suf,kharek,kambhiri and mucca.Suf has triangular forms executed in darning stitch;aggregates of triangles are used to create a variety of motifs such as the peacocks,tree of life,temple and hill.Kharek,a technique named after the date fruit,uses satin stitch filled in areas outlined by double running stitch.kambhiri has double running stitch,which is linear and grows in geometric progession.Mucca, a technique borrowed from Muslim embroidery,refers to the use of gold and silver thread which is couched on the fabric.
Fabric embroidered for making a kanchali,blouse.The Sleeves are to be attached on either side.A Typical and predominant motif of suf work,the gul flower is made up of 4 bitta units;a bitta is made of 2 triangular units of suf.

Percian impact on textile designs of India

Indian and Persian textile design work has proved popular in Britain from the seventeenth century onwards. They were consistently used to such an extent that they could honestly be considered as an integral part of British decorative arts history. They were consumed as both costume and furnishing fabrics and were produced in prodigious amounts as printed and woven fabrics.

Although large amounts of textiles were imported directly from source in what is now Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, attempts were made in Britain by a number of companies to produce styled, though not necessarily copies, of textiles from the source nations and regions. Many of these if worked successfully, sometimes proved even as popular as the imported versions.

The example illustrating this article was produced by the English company Inglis & Wakefield in 1849. It is a block print supposedly based on an original Persian design, though could well have been constructed in England as a composite of various Indian and Persian examples. Interestingly it seems to be firmly based on a woven construct, even though it is most definitely printed. There were a number of critics of the period who were concerned that crossovers between woven and printed textiles did not always work as both disciplines arrived at textiles from very different start points. Henry Cole in his Journal of Design and Manufactures drew attention to the issue of printed and woven textiles. In an 1849 issue, the magazine openly questioned a group of Indian and Persian styled fabrics of which this particular Inglis & Wakefield design was a part. 

'It is curious that these printed imitations of Persian or Indian patterns continue to have given to them the same regular treatment of lines necessary to the woven fabrics, for which they were first designed, where the form altars thread by thread, and it is worth while to consider whether this peculiarity conduces to their beauty or merely to their imitative association.'

Having said that, the magazine was also at pains to state that good design work could always be produced if certain elements were set in place. These design elements could give,

'...the same distributive treatment of the same rich full colours, added to the more flowing forms attainable by printing, would give much novelty, while the beauty resulting from the Indian principle of design would remain.'

The 'Indian principle of design' is an important point to be made when considering this particular design, but also that of the larger British textile design industry as a whole. Traditional Indian textile design work, whether printed, woven or embroidered, was considered to be consistently successful by many British design and decoration critics, particularly during this period of the mid-nineteenth century. It was often held up as a supreme example of the working virtues of the Design Reform movement. Many true examples of Indian work, rather than copies or re-imaginings, were praised in Britain as being probably the best contemporary examples of textile design then available. Compositional balance, harmony of colour, honesty to materials all were seen as essential to good design work. These were also seen to be core values of both the Design Reformers and later that of the English Arts & Crafts movement. 

The issue of good design versus immediate novelty through fashion is a long argued one that derives directly from the mid-nineteenth century. This is an issue that still plagues us today over a century and a half later. If anything it is perhaps even more acute in our own contemporary world considering the accumulation of problems that we are having to at least address, if not solve. Many of these derive directly from the industrialization of craft in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, and the resulting industrialization of the retail market. More importantly, it also saw the industrialisation of the needs of the individual, creating an artificially constant consumer market that could never be satiated.

However, the fact that Indian textile pattern work was used directly, along with other more diverse and far ranging examples, both contemporary and traditional, is an important reminder of how intrinsically entwined Indian crafts, both decorative and ornamental, were in the more general world of the British decorative arts. It is also a reminder of the influence India had on the much more specific and pioneering worlds of the Design Reform and Arts & Crafts movements. Movements that were to fundamentally change many aspects of British design, decoration and craft, throughout much of the latter nineteenth century and well into the twentieth.

Banarasi Brocade

India has a diverse and rich textile tradition. The origin of Indian textiles can be traced to the Indus valley civilization. The people of this civilization used homespun cotton for weaving their garments. Excavations at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, have unearthed household items like needles made of bone and spindles made of wood, amply suggesting that homespun cotton was used to make garments. Fragments of woven cotton have also been found from these sites. The first literary information about textiles in India can be found in the Rig-Veda, which refers to weaving. The ancient Indian epics-Ramayana and Mahabharata also speak of a variety of fabrics of those times. The Ramayana refers to the rich styles worn by the aristocracy on one hand and the simple clothes worn by the commoners and ascetics. Ample evidence on the ancient textiles of India can also be obtained from the various sculptures belonging to Mauryan and Gupta age as well as from ancient Buddhist scripts and murals (Ajanta caves). Legend has it that when Amrapali, a courtesan from the kingdom of Vaishali met Gautama Buddha, she wore a richly woven semi transparent sari, which speaks volumes of the technical achievement of the ancient Indian weaver. India had numerous trade links with the outside world and Indian textiles were popular in the ancient world. Indian silk was popular in Rome in the early centuries of the Christian era. Hoards of fragments of cotton material originating from Gujarat have been found in the Egyptian tombs at Fostat, belonging to 5th century A.D. Cotton textiles were also exported to China during the heydays of the silk route. Silk fabrics from south India were exported to Indonesia during the 13th century. India also exported printed cotton fabrics or chintz, to European countries and the Far East before the coming of the Europeans to India. The British East India Company also traded in Indian cotton and silk fabrics, which included the famous Dacca muslins. Muslins from Bengal, Bihar and Orissa were also popular abroad.(Muslin-a very thin cotton material) (Chintz-cotton cloth, usually printed with flowery patterns, that has a slightly shiny appearance) The past traditions of the textile and handlooms can still be seen amongst the motifs, patterns, designs, and the old techniques of weaving, still employed by the weavers.  BROCADES - THE TRADITION OF BRINGING SILK TO LIFE  Brocade weaving, especially with gold and silver, has been an age-old tradition in India. There are two broad classes of brocades. Brocades of pure silk or silk and cotton blends and zari brocades with gold and silver threads. The most important material in brocade weaving is silk. It facilitates lovely weaves, is durable, strong, fine and smooth. There are several varieties of raw silk of which the chief ones used for brocades are Tanduri, Banaka and Mukta. Tanduri is imported from Malda and other places in Bengal. Banaka is thinner and finer variety and is mostly used to weave soft fabrics such as turbans and handkerchiefs. Mukta is a coarse and durable silk used for kimkhabs, as fine silk would not withstand heavy gold patterns. REFINING SILK FOR BROCADE MAKING  Raw silk is specially treated for brocades. It is first twisted (called 'silk throwing') after which the threads undergo reeling and checking for uniformity and roundness. When the yarn has been processed, it is bleached and "degummed", as raw silk has a gum-like substance (sericin) in its composition. This has to be removed in order to bring out the sheen and softness and to enable penetration of the dye. The task has to be done with great care as the fibers can weaken or get damaged. The silk is boiled in soap water for certain duration and then sent for dying. IMPORTANCE OF COLOR  Color plays a vital part in weaving brocade. The charm and subtle beauty of the brocade depends upon color synchronization. Colors are surcharged with nuances of mood and poetic association in fabrics and weaving as much as in painting. Red - the color of love. The three tones of red evoke the three states of love. Yellow - is the color of versant (spring), of young blossoms, southern winds and swarms of bees. Nila (indigo) - the color of Lord Krishna who is likened to a rain-filled cloud.  Hari Nila - the color of water in which the sky is reflected. Gerwa (saffron) - the color of the earth and of the yogi the wandering minstrel, the seer, the poet who renounces the world. Earlier, vegetable dyes were used during weaving. These produced fast colors, lasted for almost a generation, and remained as beautiful and vivid as ever. Nowadays aniline dyes have gained popularity as they are cheaper, less time-consuming and produce a larger variety of colors. MAKING NAKSHAS (DESIGNS) ON BROCADES  Making of nakshas (designs) forms an important part of brocade weaving. Banaras is the main center where the nakshabandha (designer) tradition prevails. The skill and imagination of nakshabandha plays a prominent part in making of designs. Designs are associated with legends and symbolism. The most popular motifs are drawn from nature. In Banaras, it is said that nakshabandha families were brought to this country during the reign of Muhammed Tughlak (1325-1350 A.D.). They were supreme masters of the art of tying designs into the loom. Local artisans and weavers learned this art from these great craftsmen. Some of these craftsmen were also great poets-perhaps they wove their poetry into their designs. One such renowned poet was Ghias-I-Naqsband, mentioned in Abul Fazl's 'Ain-I-Akbari'. The nakshas are first worked on paper. This part of the work is called likhai (writing). The nakshabandha then makes a little pattern of it in a framework of cotton threads like a graph. This pattern gives guidance to the working of that design into weaving. CHANGES IN DESIGNS THROUGH THE CENTURIES  Designs and motifs have undergone changes gradually and imperceptibly. These changes can be traced through paintings made during different periods. Ajanta and Bagh murals show the existence of different techniques of designs and textiles. During the Gupta period (14th century A.D.). Popular designs were formal floral motifs or scrolls entwined with hansas or sinhas -bird and animal depictions. In the 16th century, the old designs were replaced by Persian floral motifs. Akbari paintings show half-blooming flowers, the Jehangir period, full-blown blossom and the Shahjehan period, tiny blossoms with emphasis on the leaves. In the 19th century, with the advent of British rule, there was a drastic change in designs. Some brocades started depicting English wallpaper designs to suit the tastes of the British rulers.