Indian subcontinent

Indian subcontinent

'Beyond Peacocks and Paisleys: Handcrafted Textiles of India and its Neighbors,' was the title of an exhibition at the Goldstein Museum of Design, University of Minnesota, between 9 June - 25 September 2011.

In the 1890's a group of three male embroiderers was photographed in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent, in modern Jammu and Kashmir. They are decorating floor coverings. The large covering in the centre is called a namdah and is being embroidered with an ari hook and a chain stitch.

Amli embroidery is a style of work from the Jammu and Kashmir region in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent. It is characterized by the use of threads of many colours, which are used to decorate kani shawls (with woven decoration). The designs are worked on the obverse side of the cloth and are not reversible.

The Textile Museum of Canada houses a cotton angarkha coat that dates to about AD 1900. It is 119 cm long and 191 cm wide. It has been decorated with chikan work.

Ari embroidery, or ari work, is a style of chain stitch embroidery generally associated with India. It is worked with a long fine shaft ending in a fine hook (ari hook). The hook is normally fitted to a wooden handle. The word ari (also written aari) derives from a Hindi word meaning ‘hook’. Where exactly this type of embroidery originated is unknown, and apart from India it is also sometimes associated with China.

Manish Arora, born in Mumbai in 1972, is one of India's leading fashion designers. He trained at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi, where he graduated in 1994. He launched his own fashion label ('Manish Arora') in 1997. He showed his creations at the London Fashion Week in 2005, and at the Paris Fashion Week in 2007.

Badla is a form of metal thread embroidery associated with various Asian and Middle Eastern countries. In India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and throughout the Gulf region the technique is usually known as badla. In (southern) Iran it is called khus-duzi, while in Egypt it is called tulle-bi-telli (‘net with metal’), which includes the French word tulle (‘net’).

The British Museum in London houses a blouse, made of cotton and decorated with embroidery. The garment measures 41 by 71 cm. It is attributed to the Banjaras from Himachal Pradesh, India. The blouse was acquired by the Museum in 1993.

The British Museum in London houses a bodice that is made of cotton and decorated with embroidery, coins and shisha work. It is attributed to Banjaras from Rajasthan, Western India. The bodice measures 60 by 63 cm. It dates to 1918 or earlier.

The British Museum in London houses a container, made of cotton and decorated with embroidery. The container measures 57 by 56 cm. It is attributed to the Banjaras from India. The Museum acquired the object in 1986.

The British Museum in London houses a dowry bag that is made of cotton and decorated with embroidery and shells. It is attributed to Banjaras from Central India. The bag measures 42 by 42 cm. The object was acquired in 1986.

The British Museum in London houses a man's waistcoat that is made of cotton and decorated with embroidery, mainly with geometric motifs. It is attributed to Banjaras from Central India. The garment measures 75 by 24 cm (excl. shoulder straps). It dates to the early twentieth century or before.

The British Museum in London houses a skirt that is made of cotton and decorated with embroidery and shisha work. It is attributed to Banjaras from Rajasthan in India. It dates to 1918 or earlier. The skirt measures 90 by 50 cm.

The British Museum in London houses a wedding mat that is made of cotton and decorated with embroidery, appliqué and shisha work. It is attributed to Banjaras from Central India. The mat measures 65 by 65 cm. It was acquired by the Museum in 1986.

The British Museum in London houses a woman's neck cover that is made of cotton and decorated with embroidery (long and short stitch), cowrie shells and pompoms made of silk. It is attributed to Banjaras from central India. The neck cover measures 30 by 23 cm. The object was acquired in 1991.

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London houses a cotton betel bag from Sri Lanka, which dates to the late nineteenth century. It is embroidered with floral and geometric motifs.

The Bharat Kala Bhawan (भारत कला भवन) is an art and archaeology museum in Varanasi, India. It houses a collection of Indian textiles, and especially chikan embroidery. The Museum was founded in 1920 and is attached to Banaras Hindu University.

The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has a tradition of making special boots that mark the position and function of the wearer. The boots, locally called tshoglham, were originally made of silk cloth, but by the twentieth century more often in combination with leather. Some of the boots are left undecorated, but others are ornamented with appliqué and embroidery.

The British Museum in London houses an embroidered, woollen boy's coat (92 x 158 cm) that originates from Chitral in the extreme north of Pakistan and was acquired in 1987. Coat is made of strips of densely woven and fulled wool, embroidered with woollen thread using chain stitch. Embroidered patterns recall patterns on Kashmir rugs.

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