Silk production began in China more than four and a half thousand years ago. One story says a Chinese empress dropped a cocoon into her tea, causing it to unravel. She then ordered that several strands should be used as a thread and woven into a fabric.

The Chinese kept the secret of silk production from the rest of the world for approx 3,000 years, trading by the Silk Road. Some monks, however, discovered the secret and production spread to Japan and India.

Silk continues to be a valuable commodity. Silk fibre is the strongest natural fibre, reflecting the light and giving a look of lustre. It is tougher than cotton and wool and will resist moulds and mildews that can cause damage in other fabrics. Silk can stretch up to 20 percent without breaking and will return to its original shape. It absorbs dyes to create powerful, vibrant colours.

The Mughal rulers of the Indian subcontinent had a thriving system of international trade that linked the ports of Southern India to Ancient Rome. The chronicles of the Greek Periplus from the first century reveals that Indian exports included a variety of quality textiles as well as spices, aromatics, ivory and gems.

Archaeological evidence has established that the complex technology of mordant dyeing had been know in the subcontinent from at least the Second Millennium BC.

The use of printing blocks in India may go back as far at he Third Millennium BC, leading to the view India is possible the original home to textile printing.

The export of printed fabrics to China can be dated to the Fourth Century BC, where they were much used and admired and, later, imitated. The Thirteenth Century Chinese traveller, Chau Ju-Kua, refers to Gujarat as a source of cotton fabrics of every colour and mentions that every year these were shipped to the Arab countries for sale.

It was in the Thirteenth Century also that Marco Polo recorded the exports of Indian textiles to China and South East Asia from Andhra and Tamil. Chou Ta-Kuan, the Chinese observer at the Khmer capital of Angkor, writes that “preference was given to the Indian weaving for its skill and delicacy”.

Elaborately decorated Indian textiles were highly valued. Prestige trade textiles such as Patola (double ikat silk in natural dyes) from Patan and Ahmedabad, and decorative cottons in brilliant colour-fast dyes from Gujarat and the Coromandel coast were among the most sought after.

The right to wear Patola was widely claimed as the prerogative of the Indonesian nobility. This was a practice encouraged by the Dutch East India Company which distributed Patola to local rulers as part of the incentives to win co-operation and local trading concessions.

Textiles also comprised a significant portion of the Portuguese trade with India. These included embroidered bedspreads and wall hangings produced at Satgaon, the old mercantile of capital of Bengal.

Quilts of embroidered wild silk (tassar, munga or eri) on a cotton or jute ground, combining European and Indian motifs were commissioned by the Portuguese, who had been attracted to Bengal by the quality of the region’s textiles.

Palampores – painted fabrics based on the “tree of life” motif that had become popular in the Mughal and Deccan courts were also highly regarded. The attractiveness of fast dyes, multi-coloured Indian prints on cotton (i.e. chintz) in Europe led to the formation of the London East India Company in 1600, followed by its Dutch and French counterparts.

SAYA is proud to continue to trade from India an work with crafts artisans to create unique designs for your home.