Gamthi or Saudagari prints

Printing and dyeing techniques flourished in Rajasthan in the medieval ages and the influences brimmed over to Gujarat. The craftsmen in Gujarat developed an expertise in printing with wooden blocks. Printed fabric was a frequent element in royal processions with which they made tents for when the battalion rested. Until the establishment of fabric trade routes Europeans used wool, silk or leather as dress materials and cotton was not an extensively explored material. Eventually, plain cotton started being heavily imported by European ports. Absence of knowledge about colours and fabric printing also gave way to the European demand for printed fabrics. The climatic conditions in Europe didn’t allow the colours to mature as brightly as they did in India. The traditional weaver clan ‘Chaliyans’ used to weave the plain fabric and printing on fabric was done in western and northern India. These printed fabrics became popular in Europe as Calico prints, also termed as ‘Chintz’. John Ovington came to India in 1689. The interest of Europeans in cotton printing and dyeing were clear enough and those cases of ‘borrowing’ from India were written by Frenchmen in the 70 years between 1678 and 1747, a period that coincided with initial phase of European expansion for the new textile printing industry. Between 1678 and 1680, Georges Roques wrote a 333-page manuscript containing a detailed analysis of the production of textiles in Ahmedabad, Burhanpur and Sironj. The French East India Company’s Lieutenant Antoine Georges Nicolas de Beaulieu was the author of a second manuscript, probably compiled around 1734. Finally, the third document was produced as a series of letters by Father Coeurdoux, a missionary from the Society of Jesus who lived in India between 1742 and 1747.The principal cotton textile described by Roques was the less expensive wood block printed Chintz as opposed to the more expensive painted Chintz from the same region and elsewhere in India. The less expensive wood block printed Chintz was produced at Ahmedabad, Sironji, Bhuranpur (Khandesh). Ahmedabad was one of the lowest cost production centres for the textile in western. The use of one or more carved block was practiced; Ahmedabad producers used three types of blocks, one for outline of the design, one for the ground and third types of detail, worker first print outline then ground and then details. Ahmedabad was also famous for its intricate traditional designs that were chipped on the blocks by the artisan families. These prints came to be called ‘Saudagiri’ prints as ‘Saudagars’ or traders would gather at fairs, markets or ‘haats’ to sell their printed fabric to common folk as well as royalty. The ‘Gujarat State Handicraft Development Corporation’ and its retail wing ‘Gurjari’ were established in the early 1970s. The aim was to uphold the craft and create a sustainable market. At around the same time, the ‘National Institute of Design’ was established in Ahmedabad. Designers were recruited from NID to work with the Handicraft Development Corporation staff and the craftsmen from rural areas of Gujarat.