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
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
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
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
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
Mother of Pearl Inlay – Art in Wood
Exploring the art of carving out pictures in wood and then filling them with the beautiful contrasting mother-of-pearl bits cut to size. Precision is absolutely essential in the craft! The art allows us glimpses into the cultural ethos of the time it was made. Natural beautyf, music and the arts seem to be of great importance!
The Emperor’s Robe of ‘Literacy’
They were called illiterate. Because those who decided this wrote with pen and paper wrote in characters and not pictures used a different script logic * had a qualitatively different … Continue reading
Daily Art Fix – Dhingli motif in Kutch Shawls
A ‘dhingli’ (doll) motif that symbolises a term of endearment for the girl-child from a vintage cotton Odhana textile from the wovensouls collection. Aug 2015
Karakalpak Motifs – Art in Geometry
Sometimes it is enough to just enjoy the visual without knowing the meaning… View the complete piece and other images here on wovensouls,com … Continue reading
The Lore of a Kilim Rug | The Lure of a Kilim Rug
One day a Yürük tribal chief saw a kilim rug cast on the ground by a tent. Looking at it brought anguish to his heart, so he called on his … Continue reading
Motif & Meaning in Textiles – 1 Preface
A part of my fascination with traditional textiles emanates from the stories hidden within them. The cultural aspects – who wore them, for what occasion, who made them and how … Continue reading
The Scent of a Textile
It is easy to be struck by the beauty of the Textile visually. But sometimes the stimulation extends to realms beyond the visual. Today I received an antique shawl from … Continue reading
