LENGTH OF KAMKHWAB
By Bakshu
Woven silk, metal-wrapped thread
Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
c. 1855
Indian textiles were a great source of inspiration to European designers. However, the weavers who made them were generally uncredited. This length of kamkhwab (‘kincob’), a densely woven brocade of silk and metal-wrapped thread, was sent to the 1855 Paris Exhibition. Unusually, it was embroidered with both the name of the pattern, angoori-buta, meaning a grape bunch motif, and the name of its weaver, Bakshu. [01/08/2017]