Flora and Fauna
Flora and Fauna form the visual vocabulary of much of India’s handcraft. Their link with mythology and religion make them the perfect subject matter for weaving and printing.
National Institute of Fashion Technology
The textiles documented were commissioned for Visvakarma, a series of exhibitions on Indian handmade textiles, between the early 1980s and ‘90s.
Flora and Fauna (2022) by Curated by NIFT BengaluruNational Institute of Fashion Technology
Flora and Fauna
Motifs of Flora and Fauna have adorned Indian cloth throughout history. Borrowing from fields, gardens and forests, they appear variously as a small, repeating buta or the singular plant and shrub; bel or creepers and meanders; the jaal or all over patterns with foliage;
Flora and Fauna (2022) by Curated by NIFT BengaluruNational Institute of Fashion Technology
or as the large Tree of Life; renowned for its bold forms in hand-painted and printed textiles for trade with Europe from the 17th to 19th centuries.
Flora and Fauna (2022) by Curated by NIFT BengaluruNational Institute of Fashion Technology
The commissions which appear here represent various techniques through which the natural world is captured in Indian textiles, and show how elements from here became a constant source of inspiration and exploration for Visvakarma through its various phases and iterations.
The Bulls
The horns and raised tails of the animals are delicately dye-painted with a brush that shows the calligraphic style of the artists. But their bodies are created as a flat wash by dabbing with a dye-soaked cloth. Tiny crows on the bull add visual interest to the subject.
Sanganer Directory -DetailsNational Institute of Fashion Technology
Sanganer Directory
The directory features around 700 wooden blocks from existing workshops in Sanganer, showcasing the wide range of designs and patterns that were traditionally used in their block-printed cotton fabrics.
Birds -Weavers' Service Centre, Vijayawada
The base fabric is made of pure cotton, and the bird figure is achieved using discontinuous supplementary wefts of black, grey, and ecru cotton. The chief merit of the work lies in the skilled brocading of the curved forms rather than in the draughtsmanship or composition.
Birds -Weavers' Service Centre, Mumbai
The motifs of birds which appear in this textile are taken from the richly illustrated The Book of Indian Birds, a publication from 1941, by Dr Salim Ali.
Tree of Life
The tree depicted in the panel is classical in its design, with slender trunks and branches that rise from a mound of water, symbolising aquatic life depicted with the lotus, fish, and turtle.
Woven Flower
The motif of a cockscomb plant is expressed as a singular buta, and the aesthetic of the piece connects to the delicate white-on-white jamdanis of Bengal and the fine Chikankari embroidery associated with the royalty and aristocracy of the former state of Awadh.
Paithani Panel
In this Paithani Panel the border is finished with a traditional design of a four-petal rosette, alternating with a group of scalloped leaves. These motifs are joined by angular stems, creating a cohesive and balanced design.
Panel with Mughal Flowers
Amrut Patel studied Rajasthani and Ustad Mansur's Mughal miniature paintings in order to create the Mughal follower panel. The overall effect is one of skill and attention to detail, showcasing the artist's ability to create complex and intricate compositions.
Flora and Fauna (2022) by Curated by NIFT BengaluruNational Institute of Fashion Technology
The exploration of flora and fauna in Visvakarma textiles is steeped in the quotidian dimensions of Indian living. From the aimless bull in the bazaar to the forked Tree of life buzzing with birds and animals, the inspiration and execution is artistic and methodical.
Text: Susan Thomas, Dr. Ravikumar R, Mayank Kaul,
Photographs: Sanjeev C M, Chirodeep Chaudhuri
