Printed Textile with Silver Varak Leaf

The silver Varak print in these antique piece continues to retain their shine.

The process of making the silver Varak takes between 2 to 4 hours, while gold Varak needs to be beaten for 12 hours or more.

Gold Varak inspite of being more costly then silver was preferred as it retained its glitter and was tarnish free.

The block printers attempt to prevent the silver from tarnishishing by carefully painting waterproof lacquer over the silver Varak print. This slows down the oxidation process, making the textile suitable for long use.

Precious metal Varak leaf was stamped onto clothing, the gilding accenting the full gathered ghagara skirts, saris, odhini veils, turbans and other modes of dress; its usage extending further to decorate items traded overseas for use in homes. Used also to embellish sacred purpose textiles – hangings, wraps for ritual offerings, covers for holy books, gold and silver Varak leaf continues to be employed to decorate temple textiles and clothing.