CHIKAN / CHIKANKARI

HISTORY

The origins are uncertain. The word ‘chikan’ is derived from a Persian word meaning to render delicate patterns on fabric. So fine was chikankari that the Romans called them ‘textili venti’, woven winds.

In early times, the embroidery was done in Dacca and Calcutta in Bengal and in Lucknow by professional Muslim men under patronage of courts for court and temples: women stitched for domestic use - dowries and animal trappings. Evident in 16^th C, chikankari reached its height in the 18^th C in Lucknow and crystallized into its definitive form in 19^th C. With the advent of the British rule, chikan work declined due to loss of patronage of the courts and landlords: the work changed from professional to a cottage industry for women. By the beginning of the 20^th C, standards dropped as the industry became orientated towards the mass market resulting in cheap and rough work. Uttar Pradesh became the chief centre of production, mainly garments, for the huge export trade.

Today chikan work is done on mulls, muslins, voiles, organzas and polyester. Whereas once mainly on garments, today it is used also on bed and table linen.

EMBRODIERY

Chikan is the only white embroidery in the Indian sub-continent, rich in a range of colourful, rich embroideries and woven brocades. It is similar to Ayrshire work resulting from an exchange of ideas between continents during British rule.

In chikankari, there is a fixed repertoire of stitches, each of which is only ever used in a certain way – a discipline shared by no other embroidery. (European embroiderers used stitches for whatever purpose they pleased.) A characteristic is texture, using 1 to 12 fine threads. Designs, with a preponderance of trailing stems and often include the paisley shape, are carved on a wooden block and stamped onto the cotton fabric.

REFERENCES:

Chikan Embroidery: The Floral Whitework of India, by Sheila Paine, Shire Publications
The Techniques of Indian Embroidery, Anne Morrell, Batsford, London, 1994
Piecework Magazine, May/June 2003
Asian Embroidery, Ed Jasleen Dhamijal, New Delhi 2004
A-Z of Whitework: Book 1 Surface Embroidery, Inspiration Books, 2007
Ayrshire and other Whitework, Margaret Swain, Shire publications, 1982
Art of Embroidery: History of Style and Technique, Lanto Synge, Royal School of Needlework, 2001
Indian Embroidery, Rosemary Crill, V&A Publications 1999.
www.crafts.indianetzone.com/chikan_embroidery.htm
www.fashionindia.net