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Bhutan
- Textiles |
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Bhutanese Textile is among the last of the major work of Asia to
gain recognition in the West. Bhutan's textile especially the
intricate brocades and complex supplementary warp patterns, are
unmatched anywhere in the world.
Hand-loomed fabrics have been integral to Bhutanese culture for
centuries and remain the country's most distinctive art form. The
finest work is known as 'heart-weaving' the most exquisite silks,
woolens and cottons, usually made into traditional garments
characterised by brilliant individuality and careful finish.
Textile and handicrafts are a reflection of the custom and the
society. The handicrafts of Bhutan are unique in their indigenous
technique. The rarity and exquisite beauty coupled with intricate
design add to its appeal. A wide range of carefully and
intricately designed textiles woven out of mettle, yak hair, silk,
cotton and wool makes each item a distinctive work of art. The
Bhutanese weaving style reaching out to new fashion trends is fast
emerging as one of the greatest textile tradition, the world has
ever seen.
Weaving is closely associated with women and is the only one of
Bhutan's traditional arts and crafts that is dominated by women. Bhutani's weavers specialise in working additional decorative
wraps and wefts into the 'ground' of a fabric. The most elaborate
weavings are usually for the traditioanl style kira and gho, and
these garments may take up to a year to weave in silk. One of the
best-known styles of weaving comes from the ancestral home region
of a royal family. Lhuntse in the north east. Weavers here
specialise in decorating kira, bags, and other textiles with
elaborate patterns that reassemble embroidery. The famous
Kushuthara kira- featuring red and blue, and multicoloured silk
patterning on a white ground originated garments woven from
wild silk.
Anothe sought after fabric is yathra, a striped woollen cloth from
the Bumthang region. Lenghts of this colourful yardage are
stitched into blankets, cloaks and cushion covers and nowadays
into car seat covers. |
Some Famous Textiles of Bhutan |
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Chaksey Pangkep |
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Bhutan, cotton supplementary weft. Used as a lap cloth or to
cover the arm while serving the nobility. This example is of the
type known as Chukep because of its intricate and varied
weaving.
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Handwoven Large Bhutanese Textile |
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This large cloth is actually worn wrapped as a dress by
Bhutanese women, but it makes a wonderful wall hanging or bed
cover. It's 58" x 94" of a heavy handloomed cotton in stripes of
mainly black with red, bright pink, orange, pale blue, green and
white. It has many handwoven & embroidered geometric designs of
flowers and other things.
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Alathea Vavasour |
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Traditional Bhutanese weaving is a functional craft and an eloquent art. The rainbow colours and exuberant designs speak
for this enduring national art".
Vavasour
Fabrics aims to market and help preserve the textile industry in
Bhutan.
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Tibetan Nambu Textile Runner |
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A rare old Tibetan textile. It is a felt backed runner with a
design featuring the ancient and highly collectable tie-dye
technique known as Nambu in Tibetan
This "Nambu" dyeing technique is traditional and since centuries
long passed the people of neighboring cultures and regions held
this design in high regard and there was naturally a strong
aesthetic association with this textile design technique and the
Tibetans.
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Handwoven Old Range Large Bhutanese Textile |
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This large cloth is actually worn wrapped as a dress by
Bhutanese women, but it makes a wonderful wall hanging or bed
cover. It's 54" x 95" of a heavy handloomed cotton with a
natural background covered with geometric designs in muted
shades of purple, magenta, pink, orange,black and light blue.
Old Bhutanese textiles like this are exceedingly hard to find.
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