DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.67683#0614
INDIA
42.4
not only for garments and turbans but also for hangings, bed-
spreads, and other furnishings. From their native names are
derived many of our own words for cotton fabrics, such as
chintz and bandanna. For decorating these cottons, several pro-
cesses were employed, chiefly printing and painting. Pl. 165 c
reproduces a Palamfore, or calico bedcover. The ground is formed
of interlaced branches and foliage with peacocks and various
birds arranged in a balanced position. The cotton was first sized
with buffalo milk to keep the color from running. The design
was drawn on paper and punched on the prepared cloth. Some
of the colors were painted in by hand; others, especially the
blue, were dyed so that the color would be more permanent. To
do this, all the parts except those to be colored blue were covered
with wax, and the entire piece put into the dye-pot. The wax
was then removed with boiling water, and successive colors
added with paint
or dye. In case of
a repeat pattern
wood - block
stamps were some-
times used. The
colors of the old
Indian cottons are
very lasting, and
their soft tones of
rose, blue, and
blue-green have
been acquired
through time and
frequent washing.
In some of the woven fabrics (Figs. 12.4 and 12.5) beauty of
fitting design was obtained by means of the same attitude toward
natural appearance that characterized the jewelry. Simplification
of form was carried to the point where abstract design was
paramount and the bird or animal form suggested only. One
other kind of textile needs mention, the Cashmere (Pl. 165 d).
The weavers of Cashmere, in northern India, well up in the
Himalayas, used the goats ’ wool for these shawls, weaving
them on small looms in long strips, which they sewed together
so skillfully that the seaming is scarcely perceptible. The char-
acteristic motif is the pine pattern, probably originating in the
cypress tree of Persian art, while the ground or border is filled
with small floral designs. The beauty of color and design in
Fig. 12.5. Indian Brocade. (After Cootnaraswatny)
42.4
not only for garments and turbans but also for hangings, bed-
spreads, and other furnishings. From their native names are
derived many of our own words for cotton fabrics, such as
chintz and bandanna. For decorating these cottons, several pro-
cesses were employed, chiefly printing and painting. Pl. 165 c
reproduces a Palamfore, or calico bedcover. The ground is formed
of interlaced branches and foliage with peacocks and various
birds arranged in a balanced position. The cotton was first sized
with buffalo milk to keep the color from running. The design
was drawn on paper and punched on the prepared cloth. Some
of the colors were painted in by hand; others, especially the
blue, were dyed so that the color would be more permanent. To
do this, all the parts except those to be colored blue were covered
with wax, and the entire piece put into the dye-pot. The wax
was then removed with boiling water, and successive colors
added with paint
or dye. In case of
a repeat pattern
wood - block
stamps were some-
times used. The
colors of the old
Indian cottons are
very lasting, and
their soft tones of
rose, blue, and
blue-green have
been acquired
through time and
frequent washing.
In some of the woven fabrics (Figs. 12.4 and 12.5) beauty of
fitting design was obtained by means of the same attitude toward
natural appearance that characterized the jewelry. Simplification
of form was carried to the point where abstract design was
paramount and the bird or animal form suggested only. One
other kind of textile needs mention, the Cashmere (Pl. 165 d).
The weavers of Cashmere, in northern India, well up in the
Himalayas, used the goats ’ wool for these shawls, weaving
them on small looms in long strips, which they sewed together
so skillfully that the seaming is scarcely perceptible. The char-
acteristic motif is the pine pattern, probably originating in the
cypress tree of Persian art, while the ground or border is filled
with small floral designs. The beauty of color and design in
Fig. 12.5. Indian Brocade. (After Cootnaraswatny)