Textiles a common thread woven through India’s history
Groundbreaking exhibition Fabric of India in London a magnificent, compelling yarn
In terms of global impact, the first cultural exports that come to mind when one thinks of India are yoga and curry and Bollywood films. But as a groundbreaking exhibition at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum reveals, perhaps the most important export India brought to the world is the art of textile-making.
Indeed, The Fabric of India, which runs until Jan. 10, 2016, is the first exhibition to focus on the ancient and visually rich world of handmade textiles from India. It is a remarkably splendid and venerable cache. The magnificence of a 17th-century “summer carpet” of cotton woven in a poppy pattern that was used as a forest floor for the hunting parties of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the mid-17th century hits you upon entrance. And the sensual journey continues weaving art, tradition, culture and politics into one compelling story.
But first the lessons: Displays of the raw materials used, from naturally derived dyes (such as Assam Indigo, red dye from madder roots and yellows from dried pomegranate and turmeric) and early processes of making and patterning cloth by hand — from Gujarat weaving with metallic threads to Bandhani tiedying — connect the dots between India’s rich natural resources and diverse craft traditions to its early textile-making predominance.
Of the many showstoppers, the enormous tent of printed chintz made for Tipu Sultan (1750-1799), ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore, is a stunner. It came into the possession of the Governor of Madras after the Battle of Seringapatam in 1799 and usually hangs at Powis Castle in Wales. The most opulent item is an embroidered Mughal riding coat, circa 1620. Its fine silk needlework depicts a dense field of flora and whimsically characterized fauna on a background of padded white satin that a Mrs. Beryl Blake tried — twice — to sell to the museum until it was finally, grudgingly acquired in 1947 by the Keeper of the Indian Department for £100. One of the finest examples of Mughal dress in existence, it’s now a star in the museum’s collection.
Cultivation of cotton plants for their fibres began in India before the third millennium BC, (the word “cotton” in Babylon and ancient Greece is synonymous with India) but it didn’t take Indian traders long to spread the word. One of three of the oldest surviving Indian textiles, which dates back to the third century, was found in an archeological dig in Xinjiang, China.
By the 17th century, Kashmiri shawls, bandana handkerchiefs and Indian chintzes were so coveted by the highest levels of European society that a beautiful bed from Schloss Hof in Vienna, decorated in hanging panels of Indian cotton chintz for Prince Eugene of Savoy in 1725, would have been the height of fashion.
Of course, such an advantage couldn’t be tolerated by the West for long.
As the exhibition illustrates, cheaper, mass-made European imitations began to flood the market during the Industrial Revolution, threatening to eradicate India’s textile industry altogether. Then Mahatma Gandhi came along (in his handmade dhoti, weaving on stage with a spindle) with his Swadeshi movement to ignite the anti-imperialist and nationalist forces that created modern India.
Spun by the Victoria and Albert Museum, The Fabric of India is one magnificent and compelling yarn. Karen von Hahn is a Toronto-based writer, trend observer and style commentator. Contact her at kvh@karenvonhahn.com.
One of the many showstoppers in the exhibition is a gigantic tent of printed chintz made for Tipu Sultan (1750-1799)