Author: Ann Shankar
Jenny Housego/
Publisher: Mapin
Year: 1997
Language: English
Pages: 196
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8185822441
Description
With 152 illustrations including 55 in color, this richly illustrated book breaks new ground in exploring the background to this fascinating village tradition.
For generations women in villages of northern India has woven durries, flat tapestry, as part of the trousseau they take to their future home. Imaginative in design, bold in their use of color, the durries are treasured items that are laid over the rough string webbing of the charpoi, the traditional Indian bed which is the central item of furniture in a village house. As women are reluctant to part with their durries, these are largely unknown outside the area in which they have been woven.
This richly illustrated book by Ann Shankar and Jenny Housego breaks new ground in exploring the background to this fascinating village tradition. The two authors have visited numerous villages to talk to the women who weave durries and to study those that lie in their homes. They show how the designs and motifs still in use are part of a continuous illustrative language that goes back to the ancient civilization of the region, from the painted pottery fragments of the early Indus culture to the still vigorous weaving of farm communities of the Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, where the links remain strong.
THE AUTHORS:
Ann Shankar studied Chinese in Hongkong. For several years she was a member of the Far Eastern Department of the Royal Ontario Museum, and than at the Kelsey Museum of Archeology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, USA. She lives in India, and is currently engaged in research on the architecture of Punjab. At the same time she is reviving the use of natural dyes in durrie weaving in the State.
Jenny Housego also lives in India. She is a textile historian who was formerly in the Textile Department of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and is the author of several publications, including a book on tribal rugs of Iran. She is now actively involved in textile crafts through an export company that she has established with her husband.
Contents
Acknowledgements
Preface
Map
THE WORLD OF THE WEAVERS
The Women
The Setting
Dowry
The Bridal or Dowry Durrie
Other Durries
THE WEB OF TRADITIONS : MYTH & HISTORY
Myth
Historical Roots
Durrie Weaving
The Charpoi
WARP AND WEFT
Yarn Preparation
Spinning
Dyeing
Waving Techniques
Warp Finishes
Printing Techniques
The Loom
Jail Weaving
DESIGNS FOR DOWRY
Durrie Names and Symbols
A Naturalistic Canvas
Dolls
The Pipal Tree
Animals
Lions
Horses
Deer
Hare
Squirrels
Snakes
Fish
Peacocks
Roseringed Parakeets
Domestic Fowl
Ducks
Sparrows
THE GEOMETRY OF DESIGN
Phul
Half Lozenges
Serrated Rectangles and Rhomboids
Serrated Bands
Intersecting Circles
Three Plant Forms
Cross and Triangle
Eight Pointed Stars
Diagonal Crosses
The S Forms
Combs and Drums
Rows of Triangles
Lozenges in a Lattice
Earth and Sky
Boxes
Crenellated Borders
Boats
Teasets
SPUN TALES:
LEGENDS AND COUPLETS
Mirza-Sahiban
Hir-Ranjha
Jeona Maur
POSTSCRIPT / APPENDIX
Natural Days
ENDNOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
GLOSSARY