|
|
|
Glossary of kalamkari - related textile terms
Alizarin - The dyestuff contained in the roots of madder and other plants of the genus Rubiaceae. The same dyestuff is contained in the roots of plants and trees of other families, the best known being the chay (Oldenlandia umbellata), and the trees and creepers of the Modrinda family. Methods of producing an artificial synthesis of alizarin were discovered almost simultaneously in England and in Germany in 1869, after many years of experiment by European dye-chemists. Synthetic alizarine is also the name for an extensive series of chemical colours produced from anthracene, a constituent of coal tar hydrocarbons; synthetic alizarine has now replaced madder for red color in most kalamkaris.
Alkali - A chemical compound, with a bitter taste, that releases hydroxyl ions in solution. The strength of the alkali depends upon the concentration of hydroxyl ions. Alkalis react with acids, forming salts, and have a pH greater than 7. Common alkalis include ammonia, sodium and potassium hydroxides, and carbonates. Indigo is an alkai-based dyestuff.
Alpana - Traditional symbolic floor drawings painted with colors made from ground rice paste, turmeric, and vermilion. The designs are ritualistic, symbols of auspiciousness and signify worship or invocation of various deities through codified abstract design. Variations of these floor paintings exist all over India. Also known as rangoli and kollum in other parts of India.
Ambi - mango motifs incorporated into some textile designs.
Aniline - Oily liquid compounds, colorless when pure. It was isolated in 1826 by distilling natural indigo with lime and discovered in coal tar in 1834. In 1841 it was found that it could also be obtained by heating caustic potash with indigo, and it then received its name, which is derived from nila (Sanskrit for indigo), an-nil (Arabic) and anilera (Portugese). In 1856 William Henry Perkin revolutionized the dyeing industry by using aniline to produce the first synthetic dye, 'mauveine'. Obtained from coal tar derivates, it provides the chemical base of many modern synthetic dyes.
Annato - A dye obtained from the pulp surrounding the seeds of the Bixa orellana; chiefly used in dyeing silk an orange color.
Asura - demon; motif used often in kalamkari wall hangings.
Banjara - A tribe of North Indian origin who are reputed to have moved south to the Deccan plateau when transporting the baggage train of Aurangzeb�s invading army. Their traditional caste occupation was carting. Now they are classed as gypsies and sometimes as farmers. Banjara women produce some of the most intricately stitched folk embroidery in India (both from Gujarat, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh).
Blockprinting - Method of printing a pattern on cloth (with a resist, mordant, or direct dye/gum process) using a block, usually of carved wood, or with a raised design of metal strips or pins.
Calico - Plain unprinted bleached or unbleached cotton, often used as back cloth in printing.
Caustic Soda - Very strong alkali used for scouring, dyeing and finishing of cotton; also known as Sodium Hydroxide.
Chay - Plant, Oldenlandia umbellata, of the Kistna River delta, Ceylon and parts of south India; known for the red dye contained in the roots.
Chintz - Name given by British merchants for identifying kalamkari cloth; Mordant-worked and dyed cotton textile that usually features an elaborate flowering tree of life on a rocky mound; from the Indian chitta, "spotted cloth."
Chitrakathis - The Chitrakathis, a nomadic community of storytellers, were once found all over Maharashtra and some parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Until quite recently they would travel from village to village, unpack their pothi or bundle of rectangular paintings, and narrate myths and legends from the epics, folklore and local legends preserved in their oral tradition.
The painted narratives or Chitrakatha now mainly from Pinguli, Maharashtra, are executed in rectangular panels, generally pasted back-to-back on both sides. They are held up for the audience by means of a bamboo stick and used as aids to narration of legends to the accompaniment of music and songs. There is no clear demarcation of foreground or background and the figures seem to converge and superimpose in a style characteristic of these paintings.
Cochineal - Red insect-derived mordant dye, obtained mainly from the parasite Dactylopius coccus O. Costa, which lives on prickly cacti plants.
Discharge printing - Method of producing lighter free-standing motifs on a darker ground by printing a previously dyed fabric with a chemical reducing agent which will withstand the action of the reducing agent. Can be included in the printing paste, and during treatment the dyed color will be removed from the fabric and replaced by the non-dischargeable colour.
Gada - refers to unbleached, plain woven cotton fabric used in kalamkari. Also known as "gray" cloth.
Gum arabic - Natural gum used as a dye base in printing and as a table gum to glue the fabric down onto the neoprene printing surface.
Indigo - A dye containing the coloring agent indigotin, which produces a blue colour. Indigotin is found in the leaves of several species of plants (including indigofera tinctoria) native to and utilized in different parts of the world. Indigotin was first synthesized in the late 19th century.
Kalam - Meaning "pen" in Hindi/Urdu. Pen-like instrument made of either bamboo or iron with a felt-like reservoir near the tip, used for drawing out the designs or applying the wax resists for the kalamkari cloth of Masulipatnam and Kalahasti in Andhra Pradesh.
Kasimi - An iron acetate dye used in kalamkari painting; created by fermenting rusted iron pieces, sugar cane and palm jaggery, and water for 2 weeks to a month. Kasimi is typically used for black outlining in a kalamkari.
Lac - Lac is an animal resin secreted by the lac insect (Lacifer lacca; Coccus lacca) that feeds on a variety of host trees of which the important ones are palash (Butea monosperma) , ber (Zizyphus mauritiana) and kusum (Schleichera oleosa). It is a popular source of red dye. Also known as stick lac.
Mercerized cotton - Cotton prepared by treating with a solution of caustic potash or soda or certain other chemicals. Discovered by John Mercer in 1844. Often creates a shiny finish to cotton threads and increases the durability of the fibers.
Mordant - Chemical, mineral salt, or organic matter that serves to fix a dye in or on a substance by combining with the dye to form an insoluable compound. In natural dyeing processes, typical mordants include myrobalan, ferrous sulphate, copper sulphate, alum, and potassium dichromate.
Palampore - From palang-posh, "bedcover."
Pichwai - Hanging for a shrine of Vallabhacharya sect of the Hindu god Vishnu.
Pintado - From the Portugese pinta, "spot or fleck." Used in trade records of the 17th and 18th century to designate a mordant-worked and dyed textile (kalamkari).
Pounce - To transfer a pattern by dusting fine charcoal through a perforated pattern or stencil.
Sangu - Tamil for conch, symbol of the Hindu god Vishnu. Also called panchajanya. Motif used in textile decoration including kalamkari.
Sarasa - Specific type of textile or garment included in the 17th and 18th century trade lists to Asia. Today the term designates mordant-worked and dyed cotton textile.
Tiruchurnam - Middle stroke, usually red, in the three-pronged sign traced on the image of the Hindu god Vishnu and on the bodies of his followers. Motif used in some Hindu-themed kalamkari.
Tumpal - Triangular form, usually used as a motif in a row at fringed end of a textile. Popular in Indian textiles traded to Southeast Asia.
|
|
