Research and Documentation

A friend of mine once told me that Indians haven’t done a good job of documenting our history and our knowledge. She was referring in particular to the field of traditional medicine and healing techniques. In the last few weeks, while I’ve been gathering research material for a section on textile crafts that I plan to have in the new Brass Tacks website (that’s right- coming up very soon), I realized that even in the area of textiles where so much has been written, it is still hard to find books that explain the crafts in a language that is easy to comprehend. Many of the essays are detailed analyses related to economics and the textile sector, and many of the coffee table books are more for visual appeal with just a paragraph of information on the origin of the craft or details of the technique.

There is one visual guide on world textiles by John Gillow that provides, albeit only for famous or popular textiles, clear explanations on craft techniques from different parts of the world. Since the book is a visual guide however, it does not go into the details of different designs or variations within a craft, and it does not provide much insight into the origin of the crafts either. For example, I am not sure why the world famous Varanasi sarees that use an extra weft technique in gold and silver are referred to by the Bengali word for extra weft: Jamdani. The Craft Revival Trust, as I’ve mentioned before, has documented many crafts and classified them in a way that makes them easy to find on their website, however a lot of those descriptions seem as if they are meant for people who already know the basics (or are some basics like the origin of Varanasi Jamdani omitted due to lack of information)?

This post was first motivated by a piece I found on the Craft Revival Trust website, and then more recently while writing information on textile crafts for the Brass Tacks website I became more appreciative of this clear and concise piece on the loom. Written by a textile designer, this definition-essay is a simple but thorough explanation of the way a handloom works. For many readers the details on the intricacies of the loom might be a little too much, but if you are interested in studying the basics of fabric construction, then this is it: easy to read, easy to comprehend, and easily accessible - Ayeshe Sadr’s Demystifying the Loom.