INDIAN CRAFTS

Traditional Craftsmanship – Skill with materials & manual dexterity in

manipulating tools

Total operation involves Emotions, mind, body and vibrant rhythm for the

coordination of crafts

Preserve certain values indispensable to mankind

Dignity + creativity symbolizes link with the past

Most splendid expressions of life in India – Hand spun & handloomed cloth

worn by men, women and children

Applique, embroidery and dyeing techniques enhance the cloth and woven

textiles :silk, cotton or woolen fabrics flourished in India

Contemporary India – household shrines handicrafted with metal, stone or

clay are fashioned by local craftsmen and artisans

These living traditions are visible in the unsurpassed beauty of Indian

handicrafts.

Endowed with a highly developed sense of clay, wood, stone, ivory and textile

traditions exist within the Indian craftsmen.

TEXTILES:

Muslin also known as Malmal – known for delicacy and fineness

Best – King’s Muslin (Malmai Khas) >> Ab-i-rawan : Running water and

Shabnam(dew)

Chief centre of production – Dhaka

PATOLA – Silk or wedding saree of Gujarat and Maharashtra design appear on

both side of the material

2 principle styles

1. Cambay Pattern – with white flowers on dark green stems

2. Pattan Pattern – with broader strips of field picture, series of elephants,

flowering shrubs, human figures and birds

BROCADE – Represent large group of textiles in which designs are produced by

the use of WARP and WEFT threads

Pure silk – Amru

Gold thread – Kimkhab: famous – varnasi

Represents most generous and ornamental fabric of India

Tanchoi Brocades – named after 3 brothers who learnt from China and

practiced in Surat. Base of this fabric – Satin woven in floral and bird motifs

Brocade - generic term used for any textile that is richly figured, especially for

those with a pattern in gold or silver

Pattern – extra weft threads of different coloured silk or zari, metallic threads

are woven into the basic fabric

Patternic technique – kadwa

Special type brocade – gyasar: secular use in Buddhist areas like Bhutan and

Ladakh

SAREE-

Classical Indian garment remained in fashion over 2000 yrs

Evolved in distinct weaving patterns

Motives reflect nature, everyday life and weaver’s creativity and his aesthetic

sensibilities

Types of Sarees - Places Famous for it

1. Paithani - paithan (Maharashtra)

2. Tanchoi silk - Varnasi

3. Pochampalli - Hyderabad

4. Chanderi - Chanderi (MP)

5. Muga silk - Sualkuchi (Assam)

6. Sambalpuri - Sambalpur

7. Jamdani - Bengal and UP

8. Baluchari - Murshidabad (W.Bengal)

TIE & DIE (Bandhani)

Chief centres of production – Rajasthan and Gujarat

Rich patterns are outlined by small dots of different colours

Designs of dancing women and animal forms are produced by knot dyeing

process – still fashion in countryside

Hunting scenes, female performing Garbha, plenty of floral and bird designs

are in the intervening spaces and borders

KALAMKARI

Painted & printed textiles of AP

Kalamkari came from brush like instrument like “Kalam”: used in medieval

period to draw pattern on fabric with natural colour.

The clothes from the former school were influenced by Persian painting and

the tenets of Islam and Kalahasthi school reproduced scenes from Hindu

mythology

The art of Kalamkari belongs to 2 distinct schools – Masulipatnam (muslim

rulers) & Srikalahasthi (Hindu temples)

APA TANI WEAVES:

Apa Tani tribe – lower Subansiri dt of Arunachal Pradesh

Home – Ziro in Apa Tani plateau located in North of Itanagar

Women – weaving and one or two portable loin loom

Traditional colours – Red, Green and Yellow obtained from leaves, roots,

creepers and the barks of trees

Cloth – use of broad stripes alternating with narrow ones

Other geometric patterns – extra weft technique

BLOCK PRINTING

Best known – Palampore and Machilipatnam bed covers: decoration

incomparable

Typical design – “Tree of Life”

Baademeri Print

Manifestation of Rajasthani folk art on textiles

Recognized by their motifs, boldness of designs and stark colours

Chief centre of production – Sindh: Hindus of Badmer are engaged in this art

EMBROIDERY:

Batik – style of painting whose claim lies in being Individualistic have the

scintillating quality of stained glass

Kantha – embroidery of Bengal> uses discarded sarees which are piled up and

quilted. Thread stitches are drawn from the old borders

Pichwais – temple cloth for temples and chariots depicting Srinath as Krishna

in blue. Background – dark and richly coloured. Nathwara is famous for it

Pattachitra – cloth painting of Orissa where whole stories are shown on a long

piece of cloth like a picture film. Earthen colours are used

Pipli Applique – pipli near Bhubneshwar is famous for his work which uses

bright coloured embroidered cloth probably originating from its traditional

use in Jagganath temple

Chikan (shawl / fabric) – Lucknow

The word “Chikan” stems from a Persian word: meaning – to raise

Brought to Awadh from Persia which flourished under the patronage of

Lucknow Nawabs

Traditionally it is embroidered onto Muslin with a white thread.

3 types of designs

1. Bhakia

2. Tepchi

3. Kamdani

Gujarat:

AARI embroidary with silk threads using a hook is a popular craft of Kutchch,

Gujarat

Motifs – dancing peacocks, human figures in dancing postures

Uttar Pradesh:

Chikan work – different assumptions and beliefs

Megasthanes – art of Chikankari (floral prints on fine Muuslin clothes) started

in east Bengal

West Bengal:

Kantha embroidary

Popular – rural women

J & K:

Jaal work

Takes months to complete thread work on one shawl, bedspread

Artisans stitch decorative motifs of birds, maple leaves and other decorative

designs

The most popular form of thread work is the chain stitch that is done on

shawls and clothes.

MANIPUR:

Unique type - uses one stitch, in deference to the weavers in the area

This is done in dark matching shade with untwisted silk thread on the border

of the phanek (A lungi or lower body wrap worn by women).

ANDHRA PRADESH:

Mathurias - tribe found only in Adilabad

inhabit the forest area and being nomadic, move from place to place looking

for agricultural work on land

BIHAR:

Kasida embroidery with geometrical patterns of Bihar resembles to the

kasuti embroidery of Mysore and is found in many different Styles.

KERALA:

Syrian embroidery, the first to find its way into Kerala, is no longer practised

here

MADHYA PRADESH:

The Banjaras of Madhya Pradesh, who are found in the districts of Malwa and

Nimar have their own distinct style of embroidery.

PUNJAB:

The art of phulkari has its origins in the early part of the 19th century, when

the odhini or head cloth was highlighted with embroidered flowers.

ORISSA:

Patta Chitra is a cloth painting of Orissa, where whole stories are shown on a

long piece of cloth

uses earthen colours

other type of embroidery works

(a) Mirror Work Embroidery (b) Sequins Embroidery

(c) Resham Embroidery (d) Kundan Embroidery