Traditional Indian Textiles
No other land enjoys such a profusion of create energies for the production of textiles as India. The interaction of peoples - indigenous tribes, invaders, traders, explorers -through history has built a culture legendary for its variety and colour. From the Rann of Kutch to the Coromandel coast, from city and village, hand loom weavers, block printers, painters, dyers and embroiderers continue its flourishing textile traditions.
John Gillow and Nicholas Barnard have travelled thousands of miles in a country they know intimately to study and photograph commercial, tribal and folk textiles. They first examine the cultural background: the history, the materials, and the techniques - weaving, printing, painting and tie-and-dye. They then give a detailed region-by-region account of traditional textile production: including western India - the world's richest source of folk embroidery - and other centres in the north, east and south. An array of dazzling colour pictures provides an unsurpassed visual representation of the textiles. A detailed reference section, with further reading, museums and information on technical terms, completes this essential guide.