“Textile Masters to the World: The global desire for Indian cloth” at Asian Civilisations Museum’s Fashion and Textiles Gallery
From India to the world, and back again. Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) presents a selection of exquisite garments and textiles in its latest refresh of its Fashion and Textiles Gallery. Textile Masters to the World: The global desire for Indian cloth spotlights the historic global impact of textile production in India, and its role as evidence of trade and cultural exchange between India and regions such as the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Europe from the fourteenth to nineteenth century.
More than a decade since these textiles were last displayed, these 27 pieces from the National Collection and loans will present new and returning visitors with insights into this highly favoured medium of trade. From fashion and furnishing, to gift exchange and heirlooms, visitors can marvel at the artistry and craftsmanship of early textile masters, and discover how Indian textiles cross-influenced local designs, materials and fashions wherever they were traded.
Renowned for long-lasting brilliance of colour and extolled as ‘woven air’, these exceptionally high-quality, luxurious woven and printed textiles from Gujarat to the Coromandel Coast reflect a myriad of advanced design techniques and production technology – from dye printing, block printing, and hand embroidery, which soon became the most sought-after commercial commodities in the region. Applied across versatile functions, these textiles served as symbols of wealth, decorated homes, clothed people, and were used in ritualistic practices.
Mapping the vast movement of textiles and garments from India in key regions of Gujarat and Coromandel coast to regions of Indonesia, Egypt, Japan and Europe, the exhibition explores the significance of early maritime trade as a pioneering platform for cross-cultural influences in aesthetic and production values.
Venue: Asian Civilisations Museum Singapore
When: 24 Mar - 31 Dec 2023,
By: Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM)
