Mira Gupta, Author at Marasim - Sustainable Textile, Craftsmanship, Luxury

The Art of Jewelry: There is something about jewelry that engages even the most Spartan of women. You can see the sparkle of the stone and the metal reflected in their eyes as they bend over the counter. Because so much of the history of jewelry is tied up with culture and anthropology, innumerable craft techniques have sprung up around it because it is so desirable. We’ve examined some in our recent blogs. Today, in the concluding one, we will look at a few more.

RECENT ARTICLES ON THE ART OF JEWELRY

FILIGREE THE LACE IN JEWELRY

THE BEAUTIFUL ART OF ENAMELED JEWELRY

MICRO MOSAIC A POPULAR ART FROM THE 19TH CENTURY

Embossing: The Art of Jewelry

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Filigree: In the miraculous world and history of jewelry, there is one technique done in precious metal, but visually exactly like lace. And that is filigree. As the etymology of the word suggests (filum =thread, granum=grain), filigree involves twisting and curling precious metal threads into elaborate designs. But that is a tiny part of the story of how complicated the process is.

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Enameled Jewelry: In the story of my career, I’ve had much to do with the popularising of fashion jewelry in India. But that’s another story, which I will tell one day. For the moment, I want to start a new blog series on the various genres of jewelry, not just in India but worldwide. (more…)

Draped Apparel: In our first blog in this series, we talked about the Indian tradition of wearing unstitched clothing from pre-Vedic times, possibly because applying a needle to cloth was believed to be polluting.

A kid in a langot, still worn in India by traditional wrestlers. Image Source: https://www.danielmalikyar.com/kushti-india/

Because of this belief, and probably because of the climate, India has always had a tradition of draped apparel, starting from the langot, a rectangular cloth worn as underwear. Interestingly. I remember my grandfather still wore a langot until the 1960s, as I remember long strips of cloth drying on the washing line.

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Achkan, Shervani and Choga: In our last blog, we spoke of the history of the Angrakha and the Jama. Today, we will continue with three other classic silhouettes worn by men in India, two of which are still worn on formal occasions. The Achkan is so popular that an Indian wedding is unthinkable without the groom and several guests wearing it. I remember when my sister was married, I cut up one of my Benares brocade sarees to make a miniature version of Achkan for my then seven-year-old son, something I now regret considering he wore it just once.

The Achkan :Achkan, Shervani and Choga- The Indian Silhouettes

Portrait of Pratap Singh Maharaja Nabha, by Alfred Thomson

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Statue of Saraswati at the National Museum Delhi. Note her apparel.

Silhouettes of Indian Apparel : India is perhaps unique in its history of wearing unstitched clothing from pre-Vedic times, draped on the body in stylized ways. Interestingly, in Vedic India, the body was considered an integral part of a human personality. Therefore there was no stigma attached to body parts being on display. As a culture, too, India has traditionally believed in the fluidity of form, matching well with draped garments.

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Gara Embroidery A study of textile or craft form becomes doubly rewarding when it amalgamates history and culture, not just from one geography but across nations and histories. Nothing exemplifies this maxim more than the Parsi Gara. Its intricately embroidered yards of the fabric brings together Persia, Europe, India, and China.

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Chikankari Embroidery from India – As a child growing up in Lucknow in the 1960s, I recall being dragged along to the stores when my mother and aunts shopped. Much to my boredom. Except when we went to the chikankari shops. Even as a child, I found the gossamer tenderness and transparency of the craft fascinating, and I’m not alone in this. In 1903, George Watt described it as “the most artistic and delicate form of the indigenous needlework of India.” Laila Tyabji compares it to a dragonfly wing.

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Kantha Embroidery: We speak so much nowadays of recycling and upcycling as a means of repairing what we have done to the environment and our ecology through thoughtless consumption. But in several cultures, and particularly Japan and India, upcycling has existed historically.

Kantha Embroidery born out of Recycling and Upcycling Traditions

Sashiko from Japan. So similar to Kantha. Picture Rit Maes

Japan, of course, has her Sashiko and Boro. And India has Kantha. I recall when my son was born, our Bengali help embroidered his first nappies using soft used cloth and beautiful Kantha, something I still treasure.

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If there is any embroidery that is solely in the realm of women, it is phulkari, and that too the women of Punjab. Translating to ‘flower work,’ it is vital in the history and culture of its state of origin, steeped in its history, its customs, and rites of passage ceremonies. More than any other embroidery of India, it is significant- less for commercial reasons and more for the insight it offers into women’s lives historically.

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