Contents: Introduction/Kapila Vatsyayan. Embroidery matters/Ritu Sethi. I. The forging of culture and identity: 1. Land, memory and identity in the needlework of Palestine/Shadi (Farrokhyani) Shehab. 2. Moonlight on white: imperial embroidery/Amita Walia. 3. A wrap of blessings/T.G. Singh. 4. Representations of the feminine in Kaantha/Niaz Zaman. II. A historical perspective on women’s embroideries: 1. The story of Chikan/Ruth Chakravarty. 2. Sujani, the fine needlework of Bihar/Charu Smita Gupta. 3. The world of Suzani patterns in Uzbekistan/Shakhlo Abdullaeva. 4. Picturesque frame of non-cognitive expression: Phulkari/Charu Smita Gupta. III. Women’s embroidery, economics and development: 1. Stitching hopes, dreams, desires: the Khamak Embroidery of Afghanistan/Rangina Hamidi. 2. A case study: recognizing Jisti as work of people of Hazara in Pakistan/Samina Khan. IV. Design traditions and change: 1. The several layers of Kaantha/K. Padmaja. 2. In the Artisan’s mind: concepts of design in traditional Rabari Embroidery/Judy Frater. Acknowledgements. Contributors.
The archaeological evidence with regard to embroidery can be traced back to many ancient civilizations, ranging from Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China and Mexico. It bears testimony to the value and importance given to the art of embroidery , both for itself as well as an instrument of inter-and intra-cultural dialogue, even political diplomacy. Embroidered fabric adorned royalty. It was valued at par with music, dance and poetry, and was important enough to be transmitted from one generation of women to next.
Asia has been the home of many traditions of exquisite genres of embroideries which have a social context, an artistic form and a symbolic value.
IIC-Asia Project has been, in its second phase, exploring the manner and method of transmission of knowledge within each unit and its transmission across borders. The IIC-Asia Project organised a programme in September 2005 on the theme Sui Dhaga: Crossing Boundaries Through Needle and Thread, comprising a seminar, an exhibition and a craft demonstration-cum-workshop, in collaboration with the Crafts Council of India. Through these inter-locked events, attention was drawn to the role of women who have demonstrated a high degree of creativity. Through the humble and ordinary needle and thread, they established many bridges of communication between and amongst cultures. This volume comprises some of the essays presented at the seminar by participants ranging from Palestine, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India. These make explicit the rich tradition of embroidery in a social, economic and political context.
