Kingdom Sari Project
Outlands Heraldic Saris
Pennsic Season", 2002
Enough with the talking, Lakshmi, show me the saris
This project was inspired by a series of cotton and occasional silk fragments known as "Fustat Textiles". These fragments are textiles found in various sites of Egypt, most notably the town of Fustat, and comprise a mystery to archeologists, since they largely do not represent motifs commonly found elsewhere in Egyptian art. Instead, many of these pieces of cotton resemble motifs found in temples and paintings of medieval India. Trade routes have been recorded in journals corroborating the concept that India may have exported fragments to Egypt. The textiles are dated to between the eleventh and sixteenth centuries, with a few being even later due to technical or stylistic qualities (Barnes, pp 30-32). Individual textiles comprise a range of dates over this time period. All textiles found at this site suggest a block-printed technique. Ajanta cave paintings as early as 600-800 AD suggest the use of similarly printed textiles as both garments and as home decorations in India.
Printing and Dying
These textiles are generally believed to be evidence of block printing techniques. The outline of repeated block shapes can be seen as the pattern is repeated across space. This outline is seen as a slightly mismatched edge where the fabric was not perfectly aligned between prints. Also, a slightly "blobby" appearance can be seen on most of the prints, showing which color (or lack thereof) was applied to the fabric. The "blobby" quality comes from the slight spread of the printed material onto the fabric.
In cases where the white segments of a pattern appear to be printed on the fabric, a resist-technique was used to prevent the exposure of this section of fabric to the dye. Resists such a mud, rice paste or wax are still in use today, and make a feasible possibility for a pre-seventeenth century textile due to their availability and ease of use. Determining a definite resist substance for a given sample is rather difficult - as resists are generally removed from the fabric after dying. This technique is particularly necessary for patterning with indigo, as medieval indigo dye baths necessitate total immersion.
This is the technique I have chosen to imitate. My goal was to create and wax-print a block from one of the Fustat Textiles, and attempt to use it silk fabric, as silk is more regal textile, and hangs so beautifully. The goal for this particular project was to create a gift worthy of the Outlands Royalty, with the motifs of their noble heraldry blazoned in Indian splendor across the garment.
Design
Significant creativity was employed in the making of this design... Normally I choose my motifs from dateable Indian textile fragments, in an attempt to imitate their fore bearers as closely as possible. As this was also a gift, it was decided to incorporate the use of European heraldic elements from the Outlands heraldry. This provided an interesting challenge - to make a textile with an Indian flavor out of elements that come from an essentially un-Indian culture. The following elements were designed and included:
- Stag and Doe - the main elements of the Arms of the Outland King and Queen are the stag and the doe. Although Indian textiles to do not usually incorporate these animals, their species is not unknown in my homeland, and artistic samples were available in the Ajanta Cave paintings. The only modification necessary from the published arms of the Outlands was reducing the stag's horns to a single long antler, as this species is seen more often in Indian art.
- Laurel Wreath and Flower Wreath - these wreaths surround the deer on the Outlands arms. Such a composition appears to be completely alien to Indians, so I modified the wreaths to become a vine pattern alternating with the deer. Both vine patterns are taken directly from extant Fustat Textiles
- Borders - crenellated borders are something I have yet to see in Indian art. We do not make crenellated turrets as the Europeans do, so it is unlikely that such a motif ever would have occurred to us. Having seen the fort at Pennsic, and heard descriptions from my compatriots, I adapted these motifs for the borders.
- Crowns - the crown posed the most significant problem for this design. They are clearly a crucial part of the Arms of the Outlands, but the classic "pointy crown" of European nobility is completely alien in the realm of Indian headwear. A lion or an elephant would be a much more potent of emblem of nobility than a silly hat, in my opinion, but my betters on this matter told me that perhaps their Majesties of the Outlands would not appreciate such a radical adjustment to their traditional emblems. Thus, I adapted the crown motif into a checkered emblem for the pallav that better suits my Indian sensibilities.
- Composition - Shield-like shapes are not a motif seen in Indian art and textile decoration. Thus, I modified the composition into something more suitable for a sari. The focus of the decoration is on the lower border of the sari - the more highly visible edge in any draping style, and on the pallav - also known as "that fancy bit on the end", which is usually hung in a way that draws attention to it's interesting embellishment.
Block Carving Process
Linoleum blocks were chosen for this project. Although they are not a period tool, they are readily available and fairly easy to carve with a minimum of skill. Wooden blocks would be more appropriate, and also yield several technical advantages learned over the course of this project. The blocks shown to the right are several of the blocks carved for this project. A separate block was carved for each motif. This was generally done for the greatest possible reuse, as well as for ease of layout.
Silk Choices
The silk chosen is 10mm habatoi. Silk habatoi is a textile that most like originates from China. The texture is slightly different, but most of the properties necessary for printing and wearing are the same. The silk was chosen based on cost, availability, and also printability - as fibers must be of a certain thinness to completely absorb the wax. 10mm, a thick version of this weave, was chosen for it's solidity. Although Indians are quite open with their bodies, often wearing the gauziest of garments, it is my understanding that Europeans have taboos against such things.
Layout and Printing
As most of the motifs in this design do not touch or overlap, the layout was relatively simple. The width of each repeat was determined and the start of each motif was marked on the clean, white fabric. To assist with ease of printing, a jig was created to allow the printer to align the fabric and print placement meticulously before printing with the wax-laden block. As wax tends to cool and harden fairly quickly, it was vital that the block be applied to the fabric very quickly after removal from the electric griddle heating the wax. Finding a balance between a drippy block that drips wax onto the fabric, and a block with too little wax or wax which has already cooled too much to stick to the fabric, is it's own art form, and requires experience and patience to master.
The design - white deer, with yellow borders, vines, and crowns, on a green background - required a two run dye bath working from lightest/smallest motif to darkest. The first run incorporated only the deer, on a yellow background, so that the deer would be white. After the first dye run, the vines, borders, and crown pattern were added with more wax printing onto the yellow fabric. A second dye run using dark green dye created the green color of the background. In each round, all areas covered by wax were untouched by the dye color, leaving patterns of yellow or white behind.
Wax Removal
As most of the motifs in this design do not touch or overlap, the layout was relatively simple. The width of each repeat was determined and the start of each motif was marked on the clean, white fabric. To assist with ease of printing, a jig was created to allow the printer to align the fabric and print placement meticulously before printing with the wax-laden block. As wax tends to cool and harden fairly quickly, it was vital that the block be applied to the fabric very quickly after removal from the electric griddle heating the wax. Finding a balance between a drippy block that drips wax onto the fabric, and a block with too little wax or wax which has already cooled too much to stick to the fabric, is it's own art form, and requires experience and patience to master.
Pictures
Assistance
Although I did the bulk of the design, planning, supply-gathering and general labor, two individuals were of invaluable help to me. Mistress Nicolette graced me twice with her sunny and exuberant presence. She helped by carving two of the blocks, and also spent a day with me wrapping up the printing effort. She also provided a second eye, and source of common sense, but as always, I found the most profound of her contributions to be her constant encouragement and positively exuberant and contagious demeanor.
My friend and partner in Indian studies and wild projects, Bhairavi, was also a wonderful companion in this endeavor. She has come to keep me company in my wacky project for these many months. Her most profound contribution was the invention and construction of our new and wonderful "wax trough" - it was completely her idea, and has helped tremendously in the final stages of this project. She also been a sounding board for many ideas, and a third hand and extra brain on any number of occasions.
Sources
A general knowledge of block printing and feeling for its technique is something I have gleaned from any number of websites, prior experimentations, skilled individuals and books. Most influential, however have been the following sources:
- Mistress Nicolette a very skilled dyer and weaver has helped me in my experimentations, providing enthusiasm, patience, tolerance of my wild ideas, and good ideas of her own on how we might accomplish this goal.
- Barnes, Ruth, Indian Block-Printed Cotton Fragments in the Kelsey Museum, the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor: the University of Michigan Press, 1993. Has been my main source for Fustat Textile dates, production techniques, and actual pictures of extant pieces.
- The site "Riches to Rags" hosted by the Kelsey Museum and curated by R. Barnes and T.K.Thomas provides much of the same information and some colored pictures which I have used in this text.
- The Ajanta Caves, Artistic Wonder of Ancient Buddhist India, by Benoy K. Behl, published by Harry N Abrams in 1998. Provides fabulous and detailed pictures of many of the Ajanta Caves, including the striking use of several textiles which were likely to be block-printed.
- Outlands Heraldic information taken from the Outlands web page - http://www.outlands.org