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Not on display

Sample

ca. 1869 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Gujarat (made)

Swatch of eleven printed cotton samples sewn together, with borders, for export to Thailand.

Object details

Categories
Textiles
Parasol Foundation Trust Indian Textiles Cataloguing Project
India Museum
Object type
Sample
Materials and techniques
Cotton, woven and printed
Cotton (Textile)
Woven
Printed
Brief description
Textiles, calico, printed samples for export to Thailand, made in Gujarat, ca. 1869.
Physical description
Swatch of eleven printed cotton samples sewn together, with borders, for export to Thailand.
Dimensions
  • Length: 81cm (maximum)
  • At top width: 19cm
Marks and inscriptions
'Guzerat/Eleven patterns of Madderpaut prints stamped at/Wasna zilla Bawesee in the Mahee Kanta expressly for/Exportation to Siam where the demand for such goods appears/to be largely increasing, judging from the large addition to the/number of persons successfully occupied as Dyers both at Peema/Porr and Wasna during the last few years.' (printed and handwritten paper label, attached to object)
Gallery label
(03/10/2015-10/01/2016)
THAI MARKET

In the early 16th century, Portuguese traders noted Indian textiles made 'in the fashion of Siam' (Thailand). Most of these fabrics were finely drawn and dyed cottons from the Coromandel Coast. They drew on the distinctive Thai style with its intricate lattices and borders. The two ceremonial garments here would have been worn at court. Ordinary people wore less finely printed cottons, as the merchant's samples indicate.

Skirt-cloth
Cotton, hand-drawn and etred
Coromandel Coast, 1750-1800
V&A: IS.40-1991

Shoulder-cloth
Silk with metal-wrapped silk thread
Ahmedabad or Surat, Gujarat, 1850-80
V&A: IS. 3S-1987

Merchant's samples of block-printed cotton
Vasna, Gujarat, 1869
V&A: 1707 (IS)
Object history
Transferred from India Museum 1879.
Historical context
Intended as samples of textiles, for trade.
Other number
92 - India Museum Slip Book
Collection
South & South East Asia Collection
Accession number
1707(IS)

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Record createdJune 25, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O472038/sample-unknown/
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