There’s No Limit to Creativity – Jewelry from Assam
Sharing the beautiful gemstone-studded traditional jewelry of Assam
Manila Manton Shawls – Early Global Textiles
Presenting a small online exhibition of palimpsest textiles – with layers of art, craft and culture contained within: The Canton Shawl aka Manila Manton aka Fringed Flapper Shawl
Wealth of Motifs – Fulani Art!
What if we measured the wealth of nations by the number of indigenous motifs it has? Or the cultural history within those? Would we be fighting the same wars? Here … Continue reading
A Weaver’s Heirloom Patan Patola Sari
Rediscovering a piece from the weaver’s heirlooms – a bridal sari with fabulous double ikat hand woven raw silk!
The Astitva Project – Phase II
Soon we will begin the next phase of the micro project. We will work with the same ethnic group that we did last time but this time it will be … Continue reading
Responsibility of Caring for an Antique Yuncu Kilim
An endearing note from the dealer who sold me this …
Daily Art Fix – Painting of a Weaver – 1800s
Some art to refresh the soul!
Daily Art Fix – Beshir Rug with Ikat Motif
A simple little work of textile art getting its time in the morning sun! This little piece was most probably woven by Beshir nomads in Turkmenistan. With a good exchange … Continue reading
How did Elibelinde travel to the Swat Valley?
One more example of migration of cultural memes that might hold a clue to historical events
My Ceremonial Textiles
In India we have so many life ceremonies! Every Hindu goes through or is supposed to go through 16 important ones and dozens of lesser ones. So one attends one’s … Continue reading
Material Pleasures
When I was young I desired a million things but had no money to buy them with. Now when I am old, I have more money but very few things … Continue reading
Daily Art Fix – Applique Art from Bharaich
View a Khanduri cloth from Bharaich from the Met
Daily Art Fix: Men with an extra Arm?
Or is it a stick? Maybe they are the sons of the weaver! Interesting motif on an antique Kazak rug.
Sentinels & ThresholdsÂ
The threshold is a very important line in a traditional Indian home. It is washed and decorated beautifully every day with auspicious symbols drawn in powder by the woman of … Continue reading
Daily Art Fix – Antique Kalamkari Art
A fabulous 17th C Kalamkari Artwork!
Patan Patola Ikat Weaving – HOW?
For those who wondered how! A video interview with a masterweaver Kanaiyalalbhai who explains the process step by step. To understand the technique of weaving Patan Patola double ikats and … Continue reading
Ivory Art for Royal Courts
All carvings are from the Victoria & Albert Museum, London Feb 2018 jaina mishra | wovensouls
An Indian Painted Narrative Scroll
Supposedly this is an old Bengal painted narrative scroll called Patta. Does this have the same rustic character as that of other Bengal Pattuas? Doesn’t the finesse of each element … Continue reading
Daily Art Fix – Ramayan in the Chamba Valley
Amazing 18th century Chamba Rumaal with scenes from the Ramayan https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/72821 Sita’s Fire Test Killing Ravan – A rare depiction with the severed heads and arms Am completed WOWed … Continue reading
The Jehangir Spinel
Owned and bequeathed by Jehangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb this amazing Spinel is now in the  Victoria & Albert museum in London. Surprisingly it has been described by the V&A … Continue reading
Tipu Sultan’s Tiger
What an interesting artwork commissioned by Tipu Sultan! Seen at the V&A museum, London
Daily Art Fix – Saris as Textile Art!
Seen at the Victoria & Albert museum jaina mishra Feb 2018
Daily Art Fix – from Gujarat again!
Late 14th–early 15th century printed textile – Gujarat! Met Museum https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/72747 Celebrate Gujarat!! Feb 2018 jaina mishra| wovensouls View more exquisite antique textiles and more on
Painted Map of Benaras – Indian Art
A pilgrim’s map of Benaras with the Kashi Vishwanath temple at the centre. Seen in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London Feb 2018 jaina mishra| wovensouls View more Exquisite Antique … Continue reading
Silken flowers from Gujarat IndiaÂ
One more fabulous piece from Gujarat! At first I thought it was a print … until I read the explanatory note! ❤️ This textile is from the V & A … Continue reading
Soldiers in Silk – Guns & Roses
This mesmerising silk Amli embroidery on a square pashmina shawl is from the 1800s and depicts soldiers circling around a thriving establishment. Note the deliberately highlighted flowers (roses?) amidst the … Continue reading
Daily Art Fix – An Antique Robe with Amli Embroidery
Works such as these remind us of the value added simply by the skill of an artist! The wool and the silk and the scissors could have made a robe … Continue reading
Art in Gold for a Goan Wedding
I cannot imagine how it is that the Goan found the time between cultivating their unbelievable rice, cooking and eating their amazing curries and enjoying the subsequent coma-like siestas that … Continue reading
Goan Portugese Houses – Art in Architecture
Classic Goan Portugese Houses are found all over Goan villages. Some are in great condition, others dilapidated. Viewed collectively, they represent an art style that belongs to the late 1800s … Continue reading
Fabulous Beetle Wing Embroidery! ❤️
Absolutely mesmerising embroidery using iridescent beetle wings! No words needed! From the V & A museum, London *** jaina mishra | wovensouls View more Exquisite Antique Textiles and more … Continue reading
Daily Art Fix – Textile Art of Gujarat – AGAIN!Â
I might be accused of bias as Gujarat is my home state – but since I am not the only one to be smitten by Gujarat I might be absolved … Continue reading
The Weight of CommitmentÂ
The weight of this token of commitment is about 100grams. Of Gold. !!! In case you are underwhelmed … here is a similar piece displayed in the V & A … Continue reading
A Tent Hanging from India
The series on the V & A textiles continues with the printed tent hanging! Makes me think that I should pay some more attention to prints …  From the … Continue reading
The Wine Cup of Emperor Shah Jahan
Emperor Shah Jahan’s wine cup: Am still confused about the way it is to be used as a cup for drinking … It is probably cups like these that inspired … Continue reading
The Irony of my tiny Astrological Thangka Collection
It is ironical and even absurd that my journey in collecting Tibetan material began from being impressed by their ideology of renunciation of material wealth! The life seen in Tibet … Continue reading
A Kalamkari Coverlet – Antique Indian Textiles
A visit to any museum can be exhausting and the maximum I can handle is about 1 – 2 hours of exposure. In any given hall there are always too … Continue reading
Crowning Glory of a Turban with Double Sided Embroidery
The absolutely mind-boggling craft of double sided embroidery on a turban! Maybe this will be one step forward in eradicating the gender bias… in a century or so maybe all … Continue reading
Creating Art Every Day
Isn’t it terrific that in our way of life, the act of creating art is one of the basic household activities that every single woman indulges in? Art is too … Continue reading
The Bridal Sari of the erstwhile Queen of Sawantwadi 1922
I’ve seen a dozen or so amazing  antique zari  saris but none has been as unusual as this one seen in the museum of Sawantwadi, This shalu – a zari … Continue reading
Bullock Carts & Oil Mills in Applique!Â
An endearing naive 2-dimensional rendering of bullock cart & a bullock-run oil press or oil mill! And the featute that makes me wonder about the Banjara connection is the white … Continue reading
Connecting the Dots of Gold
In the past, gold jewelry with motifs created by arranging tiny granules of gold was popular in some parts of India. Ancient Greeks used the granulation process too but the … Continue reading
Blessing Containers in Silver
How many people have others praying for them? Am certain that I have fewer today than I had 50 years ago. And so as these blessings become rarer, I value … Continue reading
Mother & Child – A Crime Scene in Silk
Clearly this is a part of a larger legend that I am not familiar with yet. And so the cultural crime story intrigues me as much as the art and … Continue reading
Daily Art Fix: 3-D Painting
Am not a formal student of art so I do not know the word for this type of work … but surely there must be a name for an … Continue reading
Walking the Dog
And the bird in the cage. Scene in a double sided embroidery from the early 1900s. But could well have been a snapshot from modern day Singapore! More photos of … Continue reading
Art of Africa
Of course Africa is too large to be clubbed into one art group … But that made a nice title … The Art of the Yoruba caught my eye recently. … Continue reading
What lies within? Copper Manuscript
Found in Odisha, it is said to be a Buddhist Mahayana mansucript in Pali script hand-handhammered into copper plates. Imagine the trouble that went into creating this …. Similar examples … Continue reading
Negative Spaces
“Negative space, in art, is the space around and between the subject(s) of an image. Negative space may be most evident when the space around a subject, not the subject … Continue reading
Women in Art – Literally
A series of textiles with women depicted in the art! 🙂 And more The ones above are from old textiles. Here’s one from a recently made banarasi brocade … Continue reading
