Antique Textile From Arunachal Pradesh

Beautiful textile of “Gara Embroidery” with Chinese Character depiction of the pathway. I collected this piece of Gara Embroidery from the Royal family. This is now framed Provenance: Chumba - Arunachal Pradesh (This is a hilly tract) Circa: 1890 Approximate Work: Crewel Embroidery (Popularly known as Gara) Gara Embroidery - Lyrical Expression of Nature on Fabric Gara is a needlepoint technique that involves creating a riot of colours on fabric with nature-inspired motifs like flowers, creepers, and birds. Buyers who understand the meticulous work that goes into gara embroidery have called it a lyrical expression of nature on fabric. The story of gara is centuries old, with influences from a number of regions. Gara found its way to India in the 8th century when Parsis migrated from Persia to settle in Gujarat and other parts of western India. They ventured into sea trade with China after which Parsi men brought back embroidered fabric for their women from China. Inspired by the embroidery, their women started embroidering patterns on their sarees by themselves. The silk fabric and the technique from China, in combination with Parsi and Indian motifs is what lead to the evolution of gara embroidery. Being an amalgamation of various styles that have metamorphosed over years, gara embroidery is not just rare but also treasure worthy. As a result, clothes with gara embroidery are prized possessions, likened to jewellery and are passed from one generation to another.