Cloths of Gold

Among the earliest references to textiles in the subcontinent are in hymns of the Rig Veda, as Cloths of Gold. They continue to inspire the country’s contemporary fabrics well into the 21st century. 

For Visvakarma, a specific set of commissions in the well known brocade centres of Kanchipuram, Ventakgiri and Varanasi aimed to capture the enduring artistic legacy of the Jaali — geometrically patterned, carved screens — in Indian architecture.

Handwoven in ambitiously wide widths than were known to have been made in the recent past, these textiles offered themselves for a play of light and shadows, bringing out the ability for fine cotton and silk yarns to be contrasted with relatively heavier gold and silver zari.

Part of the textile developments by the developers of Visvakarma series undertaken in the mid 1980s and on show in 1987 titled Ksetra, this tissue panel was developed as part of the Uttar Ksetra (Northern field) : Rang Tana.

The development of directories has been a lasting contribution of the Visvakarma series to Indian handcraft. The exhibit through its 504 squares presents patterns and motifs that are used interchangeably in the field of a sari, its borders and the decorative end piece.

Vignette sparks interest in the age-old textile art of India through the Visvakarma panels. It keeps alive the material history of the country and its ambition of developing textiles beyond garments.