Indian Textiles

The story of textiles in India is one of the oldest in the world. The earliest surviving Indian cotton threads date to around 4000 BC and dyed fabrics from the region are documented as far back as 2500 BC. India’s textiles were so central to its identity abroad that in ancient Greece and Babylon the very name ‘India’ was shorthand for ‘cotton’. India’s textiles are embedded in every aspect of its identity. India’s rich natural resources for making and decorating textiles are unrivalled. The varied geographical regions and climates provide a huge range of plant fibres and natural dyes for the cultivators, weavers, dyers, printers and embroiderers of the subcontinent. Over centuries, most regions developed specialities based on local resources: the golden silks of Assam, the fine cottons of Bengal etc. This collection consists books on Indian textiles brought together from a simple desire to celebrate the richness of the Indian weaving tradition.