Pethapur Directory -Installation

This directory brings together patterns from Pethapur, a block making centre near present day Ahmedabad in Gujarat, which is believed to have played a major role in the historical trade of printed textiles from this region called Saudagiri, with south east Asia. The patterns are geometrical and bring to mind the jaalis, lattices and carved designs in medieval period architecture in Gujarat. These patterns are formed by variations of small dots, which are so fine that they have been referred to as raidana, the seeds of the mustard plant.

The directory of Pethapur blocks has been executed on silk here. Across many block printing clusters of India esp in Gujarat and in Madhya Pradesh, there is prevalent the custom of fitting nails on to wooden blocks and printing with the nail heads so as to achieve small rounds.