Kamkhwab
c.1867 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Ikat is a type of weaving where the threads are tie-dyed before weaving to create designs on the finished fabric. The dyeing process begins with binding the resist areas with impermeable yarn or rubber bands. The precision of the wrapping determines the clarity of the design. After wrapping, the threads are dyed, but the areas under the ties retain their original colour. Numerous colours can be added after additional wrappings. When the dyeing process is complete, the warp threads are meticulously arranged on the loom to prepare the design. The natural movement during weaving gives ikat designs their characteristic feathered edge. Techniques with matching patterns on warp and weft are called double ikat.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silk warp and weft, with some silver-wrapped, plain weave and supplementary warp; warp ikat |
| Brief description | Fragment of kamkhwab (kincob), green 'gulbadan' silk with warp ikat chevrons and stripes of silver-wrapped thread, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, probably c.1867 |
| Physical description | This fabric called 'gulbadan', or rose body, is all silk with the additional feature of a woven trellis pattern added in silver-wrapped thread. 'Gulbadans' are in general light in weight and often used for women's garments. The piece bears an original label in English that read 'Gulbadan Bangali Zurad by Sajumian'. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | Transferred from the India Museum in 1879. India Museum Slip book entry 7854 [taken from 1880 register, not a match to textile]: 'Green silk & cotton Scarf figured / Loongee / Scind Tatta / 1854 / If presented, by whom [illegible]tocks'. Swatches from the original textile appear in John Forbes Watson's Second Series of The Textile Manufactures of India (1874). |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Ikat is a type of weaving where the threads are tie-dyed before weaving to create designs on the finished fabric. The dyeing process begins with binding the resist areas with impermeable yarn or rubber bands. The precision of the wrapping determines the clarity of the design. After wrapping, the threads are dyed, but the areas under the ties retain their original colour. Numerous colours can be added after additional wrappings. When the dyeing process is complete, the warp threads are meticulously arranged on the loom to prepare the design. The natural movement during weaving gives ikat designs their characteristic feathered edge. Techniques with matching patterns on warp and weft are called double ikat. |
| Associated object | 5207(IS) (Part) |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Other number | 7854 - India Museum Slip Book |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 040(IS) |
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| Record created | October 15, 2002 |
| Record URL |
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