Spot The Difference
Remember the game we played as kids? I see it in some newspapers and magazines once in a way. Here’s a chance for us textile lovers to play it within … Continue reading
External Note: Turkmen Weavings
This is a highly studied group of weavings that I know nothing about. Having just acquired a few on impulse, I had to find some material to read about these. … Continue reading
Have You Seen This Feature in a Rug?
In all the rugs that I’ve seen, motifs are placed side-by-side. Too often in tribal rugs,in the event of a space constraint while weaving, when the spatial plan is such … Continue reading
Forgiving & The Walking Stick
Over our long lives, we all face some moments that scar us deeply and leave black memories. My oldest memory as a 2 year-old is that of a death in … Continue reading
Mysteries within Textiles
Mysteries hidden in the Tampan Ship cloths of Sumatra … Am enjoying the stimulation of “what does this mean” in each and every piece. Looking closely at the arrangement of … Continue reading
Monk’s Cham Dance / Ladakh
Just posting a video of a Cham Dance during Spituk Gustor held in winter. See more photographs of costumes of monks including Pattu Hats, Gyaser brocades and textiles in monasteries … Continue reading
Hainan Brocades & Embroidery
I have just been introduced to two groups of textile arts created by the Li people of Hainan. As I learn I am sharing the resources that I’ve found. Hainan … Continue reading
Spectacular Beadworks across Cultures
I begin my mornings ensconced in my room, away from the newspaper, away from any human contact. The thing that won’t let me sleep longer, the one thing that excites … Continue reading
Museum Walk – Mataram Museum, Indonesia
Just a quick post with photos from the Mataram museum in Lombok Indonesia (an island east of Bali). First, the piece that I enjoyed the most … a figurative woven … Continue reading
Keeping the Butter Safe
This woven device is an Indhoni or a pot holder, hung up from the ceiling beams. The raison d’etre for such a hanging is to hold pots of milk / … Continue reading
The Dancing Girl with the Parrot – Kalamkari from the 17th C
Have you been introduced this lovely lady? Have you seen her lovely clothes and lovely jewels? Is that a hand fan she is carrying? What is she saying to her … Continue reading
Diverse Media of Dayak Art
I can actually ‘feel’ the compulsion they must have felt to decorate anything and everything around them! Literally any thing! The diversity of media used to express their highly developed … Continue reading
The Thrill of Discovering New Old Arts
So in my collecting habits, I am like a butterfly … go after whatever entices the heart or the eye. Most of the time the pieces that allure fall within … Continue reading
Animal Antics – A Shekarlu Rug
On my first trip to Ladakh in 2011, I met some nomad children through serendipity, and was fascinated by their life so much that I decided to instantly follow them … Continue reading
Identity – The Red Cloth
In about half of India, this red cloth stands for a very specific interest. If you like this it a MUST-have and fans will go even 20 kilometers in super-dense … Continue reading
A Step into the Kantha World
A first tentative step into the new world of old Kantha textiles. Or should I say Old World? Here is a small section of one with a scene, that I … Continue reading
How Many Kilograms is your Head Jewelry?
Hers weighs about 13 kilograms. Yours? Enjoy more photos taken in 2011 in this small gallery of costumes of some groups of Ladakhis. *** jm Dec 24th 2020
The Journey of Discovery – A Kashmiri Shawl
The journey of discovery is indeed fun! Getting to know an artwork is a process of gazing. There are only two requirements though to make it fun: lots of time … Continue reading
Something Unusual .. A Blue Base Suzani
Am new to the category of Suzanis. No books. No hours spent looking at images. No museum visits. So forgive me if I have made a mistake with this one. … Continue reading
The Nayanar Saints – Exploration through Art
Who expected to be learning history through art? And what will we do with learning all this history? I didn’t ever think it was important to know what other did … Continue reading
Originals, Reproductions, Fakes, Investments …
….and other ramblings. *** In some categories of art it is easy to spot a reproduction. For example the Mona Lisa is a very well known painting and if we … Continue reading
