Gold embroidery from India

As I mentioned in my last post, I was really blown away by some the "bejeweled carpets". The fabric, often velvet, underneath is barely visible, only a bit on the borders, the rest of the surface is covered with embroidery and semi-precious stones. In the Islamic Art Centre brochure, they are called "bejeweled carpets" but my search with that name did not lead me very far. I finally found out that the technique is called "zardozi". At the Centre, most of the pieces were of small/medium size (approx. 2' x 3' and a bit larger) but there were a few that were really carpet size. Now, just picture yourself in a very large room, very high ceilings, white walls, wood floors and these pieces are hung on the wall and perfectly lit. It takes your breath away (at least it did mine).

Look at the video from this link
http://www.indiavideo.org/uttarpradesh/news/zardozi-embroidery-2563.php.

The pictures are not always clear and the lighting is poor but you can get a glimpse of what I am talking about. The image I add here is from the Islamic Art Centre brochure but it does not even begin to show the beauty of these things.

Arshid, our host at the Islamic Art Centre, said that these were family affairs: one person transfers the designs on the fabric (and from my quick research, I have the feeling the designs are actually stampted), another sets the stones, and others do the actual embroidery.

On my way to learn more about them! I cannot die until I am at least 150 because there is still so much I want to know about!