About Book
The Tapi Collection brings together exceptional historical textiles that were treasured, not only by courtiers and royalty in India, but in markets spanning the globe from South-east Asia to Europe. Trade, Temple & Court: Indian Textiles from the Tapi Collection introduces for the first time several of the most outstanding textiles in the collection with detailed text and over 240 lavish illustrations. Gatefold spreads enhance the reader's understanding of even the larger textiles, while diagrams elucidate intricate structural and design elements.
The Tapi pieces encompass a range of materials and motifs, from 14th century cloth woven and dyed or printed in Gujarat for maritime communities in South-east Asia to the painted cottons and embroideries favoured by the Western market and pictorialpichhwaisspecially designed for religious use. The collection is particularly rich in rare early Kashmir shawls, as well as in 17th century articles for urban use, such as floorspreads, sashes and hangings. More recent examples of beautifully woven cotton jamdanisand silk Baluchari pieces are also included.
Noted textile scholars Ruth Barnes, Steven Cohen and Rosemary Crill have categorised the collection according to patronage and historical use, bringing fascinating insights to the realm of Indian textiles
About Author
Ruth Barnes received a doctorate from the University of Oxford, based on her research published as The Ikat Textiles of Lamalera, A Study of an Eastern Indonesian Weaving Tradition. She has written numerous articles on eastern Indonesian weaving and related art forms, and also jointly editedDress and Gender: Making and Meaning in Cultural Context. Her current research is on historical aspects of the Indian Ocean trade network; as part of this investigation she has publishedIndian Block-Printed Textiles in Egypt: The Newberry Collection in the Ashmolean Museum.
Steven Cohen received his doctorate from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, on the subject of floorspreads in pre-Mughal India. Formerly Deputy Editor ofHalimagazine, and now an independent textile historian, he has specialised in the general study of Asian textiles, with early Indian woven silks, Indian knotted-pile carpets, and structural analysis as primary interests.
Rosemary Crill is Deputy Curator of the Indian & South-East Asian Department of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, where she specialises in Indian textiles and Rajasthani painting. Her publications includeHats from India, Tie-dyed Textiles of India(co-author),Colours of the Indus:Costume and Textiles of Pakistan(co-author),Indian Ikat Textiles,Marwar Painting:A History of the Jodhpur Style(IBH), andIndian