Posted on: 29 April 2011
Gold puggree border weaver - 1873
Photograph of a gold puggree border weaver at work in India, taken by
Shivashankar Narayan in c. 1873, from the Archaeological Survey of India
Collections. This image shows a craftsman weaving the border of a
puggree, an expensive turban, made of gold thread; thread which has been
mixed with gold wire made from gold leaf melted onto silver bars and
forced through small holes in a steel plate to form very fine gauge
wires. Metal threads from India were considered less likely to tarnish
than products from other sources. The pulleys of the narrow loom
pictured are affixed to the wall opposite the weaver and also to the
ceiling of the small workshop and there appear to be regimental badges
attached to the wall. After photography was introduced into India in the
1840s it rapidly grew in popularity, particularly as a means to record
the vast diversity of people and their dress, manners, trades, customs
and religions.
Source : British Library
This image of embroiderers seated at sewing frames was probably an exhibition photograph. These craftsmen are working with thread which has been mixed with gold wire made from gold leaf and then melted onto silver bars and forced through small holes in a steel plate to form very fine gauge wires. The thread is used to embroider a wide range of garments; shawls, scarves, sari and turban borders, shoes, purses, tablecloths and many other items. It was held that metal threads from India were less likely to tarnish than similar products from other sources.
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