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Banarasi brocade work of Varanasi on silk cushion covers

Spread India's Glorious Cultural & Spiritual Heritage

ॐ श्री गुरुभ्यो नमः ॐ श्री शिवानन्दाय नमः ॐ श्री चिदानन्दाय नमःॐ श्री दुर्गायै नमः 

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Woven Embroidery: The Brocades of Banaras :

The brocades of Banaras (Varanasi) find their way, with equal ease, into homes, palaces, shrines, toy stores, catwalks, museums and even films.

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What exactly are brocades and why are the brocades of Banaras special? Brocades are a particular variety of handcrafted or machine-made fabric which are characterized by an embossed or dimensional appearance and feel achieved by the insertion of extra patterning threads into the base warp and weft.

This is a complex technique, requiring great skill, and is capable of rendering the representation of motifs in such fine detail that it almost looks as if the fabrics have been embroidered on the loom.

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It is found all across the world—in Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Persia, Italy, Greece, France and even in Guatemala.

In the subcontinent, within India, to name but a few places, this technique is used in Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu and parts of Andhra Pradesh in the south, in Murshidabad and Assam in the east, in Kutch, Surat and Ahmedabad in the west as well as in present-day Pakistan and Bangladesh.

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However, it finds its most intricate expression in the brocaded fabrics of Banaras in north India. It is in the Banarasi brocade that we find the finest, most detailed rendering of flowers, birds, animals, human figures, geometric motifs and even the Persian and Nagari scripts.

These fabrics are then transformed into furnishings, clothes, accessories as well as votive offerings to gods, goddesses and saints in Hindu and Buddhist temples and mosques.

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Fashioned most often in silk and embellished with extra patterning threads of silver and gold, these are expensive fabrics mainly used by the wealthy elite.

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History of Banarasi Brocades :

The Banarasi brocades we see today are the product of a long history of cultural intermingling brought on by political conquests, trade and migration.

We know from Sanskrit sources that Banaras was an ancient centre for textile manufacture and there is some indication that cotton textiles were produced here in the 16th century.

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However, we find no mention of silk fabrics being produced here till the 19th century though there are legends to suggest the arrival of weavers from Gujarat in western India, fleeing to escape famines, floods and fires in the region during the medieval period between the 14th and 16th centuries (Ali 1990, Jayakar 1959, Irwin and Schwartz 1966, Mohanty 1984, Agrawal 2004, Jain 2008, Varadarajan 2008).

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Stylistic similarities between the Ashavali fabrics of Ahmedabad, Surat brocades and brocades from Banaras, all ornamented with zari (metallic threads of gold and silver wrapped around a cotton or silk core) lend credence to these legends despite lack of firm evidence.

However, we do know that silk-zari brocades of very high quality were produced in Banaras for display at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, as specimens from this event are available at the Victoria and Albert Museum (see catalogue at www.vam.ac.uk).

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These pieces amply demonstrate the great skill of Banaras weavers in creating the finely detailed curvilinear patterning for which that tradition is now well known.

It stands to reason that such highly developed skills could not have been achieved in the mid-19th century without the craft being present in that location for at least several generations

In addition to its location on trade routes, Banaras’s position as an important ancient pilgrimage site has also contributed to the circulation of brocades.

As a pre-eminent centre for Hindu rituals of rites of passage, particularly rituals related to death, Banaras, or Kashi as the holy city is also known, drew rich and poor Hindus from all over India as well as Buddhists who were drawn to Sarnath at its outskirts.

This meant that Banaras produced textiles, cotton at first and later silk brocades, for ritual and personal use and visiting pilgrims carried them home to distant corners (Eck 1982: 311–12).

Even today, weavers’ quarters are located parallel to the religious strip along the river and shops in the adjoining bazaar cater to diverse tastes and needs—from nine yards saris for South Indians to bridal wear and miniature costumes for idols in household shrines

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Spread India's Glorious Cultural & Spiritual Heritage

By Mala Chandrashekhar

Introducing Blogger Mala Chandrashekhar - a specialist academically trained in modern Western sciences, yet deeply enamored with India's timeless ethnic arts, crafts, and textiles. Her heart beats for the rich and glorious cultural and spiritual heritage of India, and she has dedicated her entire blog to spreading the immortal glories of ancient India worldwide. Through her simple yet impactful blog posts, Mala aims to reach every nook and corner of the globe, sharing India's beauty and wisdom with the world.

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