Article47

2019

Srijan Samiti Publication, 2014

Kantha embroidery is predominantly the most popular form of embroidery practiced by the rural women. Although three to four layers of fabrics were used by the rural women in quilt making with old and worn out pieces of fabrics, including silk and embroidery thread from old cotton saris (especially white dhotis) to make kantha. Once the fabric pieces were arranged into layers the kantha craft is designed entirely of tiny running stitch in different colors. Bengal kantha is a fine example of rich tradition (see figure i) of handy-crafts still blossoming in rural India. Kantha embroidery in India not only keeps alive the craftsmanship but it is also an important source of income for poor families.

Journal of emerging technologies and innovative research, 2018

Kantha is an embroidery of West Bengal which has its origin in the reuse of old saris and dhotis worn by women and men of West Bengal [6]. The art originated as a household craft mainly practiced by rural Bengali housewives. This embroidery was done using colored threads taken out from the borders of old saris. The base fabric was made by using layers of old saris and dhotis. At that time rural women produced furnishing items like bed spread, wallet, cloth wrappers, mirror cover, floor covering etc with Kantha embroidery. It was also used as a medium of cultural and religious significance [1]. The Kantha embroidered products were mandatory for ceremonies like marriages birth, and religious rituals. In Kantha the stitches used were very simple but the compositions were done very creatively. The motifs embroidered were derived from ancient art and these symbols were reflection of nature such as sun, the tree of life and the universe [9]. They also were inspired from the surrounding an...

Romanticism on the Net, 2022

This essay seeks to re-evaluate nakshi kantha, a women's quilting tradition in Bengal, and reconfigure the discourse around it. The quilts came in various sizes and shapes, depending on what utility they served. The focus of this essay will be on specimens of the large rectangular pieces, meant to be coverlets or rugs to sit upon, that were called sujni kantha. The art of covering the quilted surface with elaborate patterns flourished in colonial Bengal in the nineteenth century. The sweeping changes in the sociopolitical fabric of the region that began with the ascendance of British power after the Battle of Plassey accelerated in the second part of the nineteenth century. The embroidered tableaux stitched into the surface of the sujni kantha bear witness to some of these rapid changes. The pieces, which were made in rural Bengal, have been collected in museums across the world, as well as in India. They emerged as collectors' objects around the 1930s, buoyed by a nationalist discourse that sought to foreground the spiritual autonomy of India in its longstanding traditions of art and craft. A product of women's labour inscribed with women's unique perspectives on change has thus been de-historicized and seen as idealized examples of women's service, patience, and cultural purityvalues espoused by the nationalist elite of India. This article seeks to locate nakshi kantha within the specific historical circumstances of their production and circulation and to see them as registers of a specifically feminine perspective on social change. Partha Chatterjee's well-accepted thesis that binaries of inside/outside that developed in the latter half of colonial rule played out along gendered lines, enjoining a restrictive, homebound life upon women, requires qualification. The sujni kantha specimens I examine challenge colonial stereotypes of native women relegated to the shadowy inner quarters of zenanas stuck in time, while also resisting the nationalist construct of idealized Indian womanhood.

Kantha: the Embroidered Quilts of Bengal, 2010

This first book-length study on kanthas published outside of South Asia focuses on two premier collections, one assembled by the legendary historian of Indian art, Dr. Stella Kramrisch, the other by Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz, leading proponents of self-taught art. Created from worn-out garments imaginatively embroidered by women with motifs and tales drawn from a rich regional repertoire, kanthas traditionally were stitched as gifts for births, weddings, and other family occasions. Innovative essays by leading scholars explore the domestic, ritual, and historical contexts of the fascinating quilts in these collections - made between the mid-nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries in what is today Bangladesh and West Bengal, India - and trace their reinterpretation as emblems of national identity and works of art. Winner of the Afred H. Barr Jr. Award, College Art Association, 2011 "Darielle Mason’s Kantha: The Embroidered Quilts of Bengal from the Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Collection and the Stella Kramrisch Collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2009) constitutes a model of how to make a catalogue about specific collections that far outreaches the task of honoring the collectors in question. Offering acute insights into an important region and an understudied medium, Kantha not only celebrates a lively vernacular textile tradition but also accords, for the first time, a comprehensive, sensitive treatment to this form of women’s domestic, creative, and social expression. In a series of richly grounded, engagingly written essays, Mason and her collaborators—Pika Ghosh, Katherine Hacker, Anne Peranteau, and Niaz Zaman—locate Kantha in wider sociocultural, historical, political, economic, and religious currents while tackling issues sometimes avoided in such studies, such as matters surrounding the quiltmakers’ agency." https://www.artforum.com/news/caa-announces-recipients-of-2011-awards-for-distinction-27289

Nakshi Kantha, the traditional needle craft of Bengal, India displays a rich vocabulary of motifs. These motifs are deeply rooted in strong religious beliefs and underlay a strong symbolism. These motifs signify the desire for ‘self expression’ and manifestation of the artisan’s aspirations. Nakshi Kantha was/is more than just a decorative quilt; they were the Canvas for self-expression, their values and beliefs. The region, that had people following Hinduism, embroidered motifs based on their religious beliefs. Furthermore, use of these symbols display a keen desire to establish their own identity and position in the society and the urge to manifest their aspirations through religious symbolism, direct depiction and aesthetic display. ‘Tree of life’, ‘Lotus’ and ‘Fishes’ have been three of the most popular and mindfully chosen motifs. This paper is an attempt to study the semiotics of these three motifs on Nakshi Kantha of West Bengal of early 19th century to late 20th century Keywords: Nakshi Kantha, Motifs, Symbolism, Self-expression, Semiotics, Embroidery

2019

International Journal of Advance Research and Innovative Ideas in Education, 2016

Nakshi Kantha, the customary needle art of Bengal, India shows a rich vocabulary of themes. These themes are profoundly established in solid religious convictions and underlay a solid symbolism. These themes connote the craving for self expression and indication of the artisan’s desirings. Nakshi Kantha is more than only an improving bedcover; they were the Canvas for self-expression, their qualities and convictions. The state, that had individuals taking after Hinduism, weaved themes in view of their religious convictions. Moreover, utilization of these symbols show a sharp desire to build up their own particular personality and position in the general public and the inclination to show their desires through religious imagery, direct delineation and stylish presentation. Tree of life, Lotus, and Fishes have been three of the most mainstream and carefully picked themes. This paper is an attempt to think about the semiotics of these three themes on Nakshi Kantha of West Bengal of mid...

Asian Journal of Science and Technology

Niaz Zaman describes the needlecraft of Kantha as "women's art ". Traditionally the Kantha embroidery of Bengal has been the forte of women, unlike Zardosi and Ari work which is predominated by men folk. The craft has a history of being a revered recycled product. A Kantha is considered to be layers of old sarees or dhotis quilted together to form a blanket, used by the poor as a protection against cold. Later the 'nakshi' form of it was born in the household of undivided Bengal as a portrait of women's aspiration and dream. The paper discusses how Kantha has been dominated by women and has eventually helped to empower hundreds of them. The various factors that made it woman-centric have been explored through primary research conducted among 50 artisans from Nanoor, Birbhum District, and Kadambagachi, Barashat District of West Bengal. The study presents a comparative study of both the clusters. The paper also explores how this needle-craft of Bengal underwent modifications from being a personal gift to a commercial product, thus empowering women and encompassing more beneficiaries under its umbrella, hand held by NGOs, Design Institutions, craft revivalists, and designers.