| Abstrakt: |
Abstract:This research revisits a renowned group of Indian printed and painted textiles, known as kalamkari, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Identifying the type of red dye used, as a basis for classifying the textiles geographically, would enable the textiles’ production to be linked with art historical data. Most dye plants are native to a particular region and ecosystem; their resulting colorants can be identified by performing high-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection. Such results can help locate the place of production and provide information about the textile’s history and dyeing methodology.Nineteen kalamkari textiles with red colorants were chosen for this study and dye analysis was performed. Madder dye is known to be the dye traditionally and ubiquitously used for cotton in India. However, there are many local species of madder within the botanical family; in view of this, we hoped that determining the species would provide clues to the region of the textiles’ production.Kalamkari usually refers to painted textiles, but some are also made by block printing. Furthermore, some kalamkari combine both painting and printing techniques. Painted textiles were predominantly the product of workshops along the Coromandel Coast on the east, while printed textiles were generally made in Gujarat in the northwest and some other regions.This research will examine traditional production methods still used in Gujarat and the Coromandel Coast, both areas that were explored in field trips to visit artisans, block printers, and dyers. An examination of the various madder dyes and their present and past use will be followed by dye analysis and its results. |
