Description
Paper is undeniably a vehicle for the flowering of Indian art, literature, history, and religion—but where did it come from? Who made it, and how? What was their inspiration, and how has this ancient craft survived in today’s India?
Comprehensive and detailed, Gift of Conquerors traces the nearly thousand-year history of hand papermaking in India. The journey stretches from the ancient sites in Gilgit and the Himalayas, through the heartland of Mathura, Agra, and Daulatabad, to the western sites in Rajasthan and Gujarat, and finally to Pondicherry on the Bay of Bengal. Lavishly illustrated with numerous colour photographs, the story is revealed through India’s visual art: books, miniatures, drawings, scrolls, talismans, papier-mâché, and folk papers. Interwoven with tales of religion, political conquest, and migration routes recalled by the kagzi (traditional papermaking families), this book creates a rich historic picture never seen before.
Readers will discover ancient birch bark papers, fibrous pundit papers, the mysterious snake and deer “paper,” and the classic Muslim cloth, jute, and hemp papers that supported the tradition of India’s great miniature paintings. It also explores the Deccan’s unique marble paper, pigeon post, paper stencils, and ancient paper recycling techniques. The final chapter focuses on the craft renaissance in which India possesses one of the world’s largest workforces of hand papermakers, making this a rich resource for historians, artists, craftspeople, bibliophiles, and collectors.
Table of Contents:
- Acknowledgments / Foreword / Preface
- The Roots of Indian Paper / Preserving the Word
- The Arabs Liberate Paper Secrets
- A Prospering Paper Craft / The Path of Paper
- Conquerors and Craftsmen
- Paper’s Northwestern Frontier (Sialkot, Kashmir)
- Paper in the Northeastern Crescent (Kalpi, Agra and Mathura, Zafarabad, Bihar and Bengal)
- Delhi: Days of Papermaking
- Western India’s Wave of Paper (Gujarat, Rajasthan)
- The Deccan: Middle India (Daulatabad, K4zipura, Erandol)
- Making Traditional Indian Paper
- The Materials of Paper / The World of the Written Word before Paper
- Creating the Paper Sheet / Drying, Coating, and Polishing
- Colouring Paper / Paper of Gold / Bird Paper
- Masterful Marbled Papers, Stencils and Cut-Paper
- The Strange Transparent Deer and Snake Paper
- Recycled Paper: An Indian Tradition / Papier Mache
- Influences Towards Change: Contemporary Handmade Paper
- In Search of Indian Paper’s Lost Himalayan Roots / Mountain Paper / Pundit Paper
- Gandhian Efforts and Government Rescue for Papermakers
- 1990s Turn Around: Blossoming of Traditional and Contemporary Paper Units
- List of Indian Handmade Papermakers / Fibre List
About the Author:
Alexandra Soteriou is an author, researcher, and photographer dedicated to uncovering and documenting the intricate history and enduring legacy of traditional hand papermaking across the Indian subcontinent.
Gift of Conquerors: Hand Papermaking in India
By Alexandra Soteriou (Author & Photographer)
- Book Specifications:
- Category: Art & Craft / Cultural History
- Language: English
- Publisher: Mapin
