Ball: Silk in the Indian subcontinent

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It has been suggested that Indian silk be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

Silk in India as elsewhere, is an item of luxury.

For more than four thousand years, this cloth produced from the cocoons of caterpillers, has been associated with crowned heads and riches throughout the different ages. As a designer once said "Silk does for the body what diamonds do for the hand".

It was China that was the birth place of the production of raw silk and silk weaving. The fiber produced was so treasured that it became a measure of currency and reward. The imperial courts in China even established factories to weave silk fabrics for ceremonial use and for gifts to foreign powers.

China was exporting silk to countries as far away as Rome, as early as the second century B.C. China remained the major silk producer for centuries. The Chinese silk industry was highly organized and supported by the state which made silk into a veritable cash crop. Thus, silk became the industrial wealth for China, and its production was a jealously guarded secret so that it could retain its monopoly of the trade. Imperial law decreed a death penalty for those who disclosed the secrets.

Through The Silk Route:

The Sassanids, realizing the trade potential in silk, became intermediaries for the Chinese silk trade. Sassanids were mainly responsible for the export of silk from the East to the West. Silk both woven and raw was traded to Mediterranean countries via Parthia and Syria, from where it made its way to Europe. Silk fabrics, influenced by Chinese prototypes, were also woven in the Sassanian weaving centers of Khurasan, Kashan and other places. Soon these silk brocades became known for their beauty and were exported to other countries.

Sassasian polychrome silk became very famous during this time. These were the most sought-after gifts, presented to Emperors by envoys and traders. Khurasan was renowned for this fabric. These later would also influence Indian silk brocades.

Sericulture was taken outside China in the second century A.D. According to legend, it was smuggled out by a Chinese princess who was married to a prince of Khotan in Central Asia. She hid the silk cocoons in her coiffure and took them to her adopted country. The introduction of sericulture made Khotan prosperous.

Over the centuries, silk weaving also became popular in other areas as well, particularly in Persia, and in the region around Syr Darya and Oxus rivers. Khotan, Bulkh, Kashgar, Bukhara, Khurasan, Kashan, Damascus and Gujarat in India became the known centers.

Persia especially was a dominant center early on and Persian weavers were in great demand. Damascus became particularly famous for making such highly coveted patterned satin fabrics known as "Damask satin". Later Timur, the central Asian conqueror, deported the weavers of the damask cloth from Damascus to Samarkand and Bukhara.

One such group of Persian Zoroastrians migrated from Southern Persia (Faristan) to Saurashtra in Gujarat and are called Parsis in India. The weavers among them must have introduced to this region the Sassanian motifs and techniques popular in their own country. Since they came from the area around the Persian Gulf, known for its high quality pearls, their beautiful embroided borders use real pearls. The influence of these Gujarati fabrics greatly affected the rest of the Indian brocade industry as far as technique and design were concerned migrating Gujarati weavers were responsible for setting up many new weaving centers and re-enforcing existing ones.

Contents

1 Silk Goes to India

2 Silk Weaving in Pakistan A Contemporary Review

2.1 Kinkhwab (Brocade)

2.2 Origin

2.3 Pot-thans

2.4 Bafta poth

2.5 Mashru

2.6 Himru or Amru

3 Contemporary Trends

3.1 Gyasar

3.2 Gyanta

4 Jamawar

5 Banarasi

5.1 Origin

5.2 Distinguishing Characteristics

6 Concluding Remarks

7 Jamawar

7.1 Origin

7.2 The Process Involved In the Making of Jamawar in Pakistan

8 Current Scenario in Karachi: Designs & Motifs of today

9 References

//

Silk Goes to India

The brocade weaving centers of India developed in and around the capitals of kingdoms or holy cities because of the demand for expensive fabrics by the royal families and temples. Rich merchants of the trading ports or centers also contributed to the development of these fabrics. Besides trading in the finished product, they advanced money to the weavers to buy the costly raw materials that is silk and zari. The ancient centers were situated mainly in Gujarat, Malwa and South India. In the North, Delhi, Lahore, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Veranasi, Mau, Azamgarh and Murshidabad were the main centers for brocade weaving. Northern weavers were greatly influenced by the brocade weaving regions of...(and so on)