This book focuses on the floor covering traditions of Kashmir, one of the two distinct regions that constitute the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Kashmir has been historically famous as a producer of the world-renowned and esteemed pashmina shawl. However, the region also produces a variety of floor coverings that are an essential part of its households and its handicraft industry. The variety of floor coverings produced differs in design, their mode of production, the raw material used and the region of production.
Kaleen-weaving is a long-standing tradition, dating back to over 600 years, while floor coverings such as the wagoo mats trace their antiquity to the Indus Valley Civilization. This book intends to serve as a lasting narrative of the rich material culture of the Kashmir region. It identifies significant cultural units in design to showcase the age-old craft traditions in production that are integral to regional tangible and intangible cultural practices. It enables an understanding of the cultural context of Kashmir that has a strong influence on the production of floor coverings, lending a unique identity to its kaleen, which is otherwise often associated with Persian carpets. The author has used descriptive, thematic and ethnographic modes of analysis to highlight instances of carpet-weaving traditions that resonate distinctly with Kashmir.
Well-researched and richly illustrated, the book will appeal to those interested in textiles, carpets and indigenous tangible and intangible cultures and craft traditions.
Dr Promil Pande is a designer, researcher and academic, working in the field of textiles and handicrafts for over three decades. Her body of work lies at the intersection of artisanal practices, design thinking and society.
As a researcher and designer, she has worked closely on developmental projects with the Office of Development Commissioner (Handicrafts & Handloom) within the Ministry of Textiles, UNDP and Fabindia. As an academic, she has held positions of Dean, Professor and Visiting Professor at G.D. Goenka University, Ansal University, National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and Pearl Academy. She has a PhD in Design, a dual Masters in Fine Arts and Textile Design Technology, along with an Executive MBA.
She is currently a member of the Scientific Board for Review, FrancoAngeli Journals & Series, Design International: the Board of Studies Rishihood University; and Founder & Executive Director at The Sidhast Foundation (TSF). This book has been developed from her doctoral thesis and extensive work with artisanal communities in Kashmir.
Door coverings have been an integral part of household traditions since antiquity, used not only for protection from dirt, cold and heat, but these have also served in place of fumiture for sitting, sleeping and family gatherings globally, Hand-knotted pile carpets, one of the costliest varieties of floor coverings in the world, were objects of imperial prestige, used in palaces, garden pavilions and as royal gifts across the world. They continue to be appreciated as aspirational collectibles with antique and exquisite pieces forming part of museum and personal collections.
India produces an eclectic variety of floor coverings, a manifestation of her cultural heritage in the textile arts which has a long history. The mastery of the technical aspects of production and the ability of the Indian craftsmen to cater and respond to region-specific design and colour preferences of virtually any market led to a 'widespread appetite for Indian textiles' (Lemire, 2009), which affected patterns of matenal culture. For centuries, production practices have been an artisanal activity carried out by communities of craftspeople across the country, espousing unique region-specific cultural attributes. The Indian textile arts. were essential commodities traded across the world on land and sea routes during the medieval ages, and continued to be a key commodity in international trade during the Mughal and European mercantile and political expansion in India amidst European commercial rivalries from c. 1500 to 1800. This sector continues to be a large contributor to the employment and export sector in India even today.
This book focuses on the floor covering traditions of Kashmir, one of the two distinct regions that constitute the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is meant to serve as a more lasting narrative of the rich material culture of the Kashmir region to showcase the age-old traditional craft practices in production that are integral to the regional tangible and intangible cultural practices. Kashmir produces a variety of floor coverings that are an essential part of its households and its handicraft industry. These varieties differ from each other in their design, mode of production, raw material used and the region in which they are produced. Kashmiri floor coverings are categorized as kaleen, namdah, gabba, ari rugs and wagoo. The production of kaleen is a long-standing tradition dating back to over 600 years, while floor coverings such as the wagoo mats trace their antiquity to the Indus Valley Civilization. The ari rugs, also known as chain stitch rugs, and the gabbas are more recent early 20th-century rugs-incorporating the surface enhancement techniques used in the production of the namdah. This book examines the cultural specificity of the Kashmiri floor coverings by a close observation and analysis of the nature, structure and modes of communication that typlly the artisanal communities of the region. It draws on historical, cultural, sociological and observational evidence to demonstrate the deep linkages between aspects of culture, community and the nature of craft practice within the region. The cultural context of Kashmir has a strong influence on the production of floor coverings, lending it a distinct identity. Pope posited that world supremacy is accorded to art only when it is the natural and authentic expression of the culture that produced it and its value is determined by identifying a significant cultural unit that summarizes traditions expressing the cultural ambiance of production (Pope, 1965: 2258, 2265). Therefore, underlining the historical and cultural aspects of Kashmiriyat, using descriptive, thematic and ethnographic modes of analyses, the research presented in this book seeks to highlight the many instances where it may not be wholly appropriate to approach Kashmiri carpet-making practices from the broad panacea of Persian carpets. This book aims to examine cultural specificity in the long-standing traditions of Kashmiri floor coverings through their unique approaches of design and production.
The visual imagery that constitutes the designs of floor coverings is inspired by the natural beauty of Kashmir, its numerous streams, variety of fauna and flora, and its abundant gardens and parks that led to the land of 'Kasmira' to be referred as 'Udyana', the garden land of India (Kumari, 1968: 110; Pandit. 1935: xxviii), Kalhana, who chronicled the earliest history of Kashmir, in his Rajatarangini also suggests the spiritual importance of Kashmir and traces the origin of Kashmir to the abode of gods, where the land is believed to be an incarnation of Parvati, the consort of Lord Shiva (Stein, 2017: 72). Additionally, Kashmir has been a popular destination and home to international scholars, grammarians, traders and aristocracy since antiquity. Its natural beauty has thus enthralled indigenous artisans, visiting artists, tourists and travellers alike. In addition to being recognized as a renowned seat of learning, as a region of immense beauty it was the producer of the esteemed world-famous pashmina shawls.
The visual world was therefore closely observed with interest by the Mughals when they conquered India. The founder of the dynasty, Babur (1483-1530, г.1526-30) expressed in detail descriptions of plants, trees and animals he saw during his conquest (Koch, 2018: 25). Abul Fazl, the imperial historian of Akbar (Babur's grandson) also documented and described the abundant variety of flowers prevailing in India, categorizing them as sweet-smelling and decorative, but he was unable to list them all for his limited knowledge. The interest in cataloguing and documenting of flora and fauna was subsequently continued by the Mughal Emperor Jahangir, Emperor Akbar's son, who gives a list of fruit and flowering trees and plants that he grew at the Bagh-e Afsan at Agra (Das, 2012: 138). Therefore, when he visited Kashmir in the spring of 1620, he was so mesmerized with the region's beauty that he famously described it as 'paradise on earth', as paradise in the Quran was imagined as gardens (jannat, rauza) full of trees, flowers and plants, running water (Koch, 2018: 28). Kashmir, thereafter, became a favoured imperial destination. Finding the existing textual documentation inadequate, Jahangir commissioned his court artist (naqash) Mansur to paint the variety of flowers growing in Kashmir, documenting no less than 100 varieties. The natural landscape of Kashmir, thus, has been an inspiration to the Kashmiri artisans manifesting in the visual imagery of their various indigenous craft practices and perhaps influenced the style of naturalistically depicting flowers, which dominated Indian ornamentation in all media during the rule of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. This floral imagery is still evident and dominates the visual design compositions in the variety of indigenous floor coverings produced in the region of Kashmir.
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