The Sister Craft to Block Making:
The art of block-making was born and has grown over the years with block-printing on textiles. The process essentially involves impressing a wooden block dipped in dye upon the fabric and repeated over a pattern to produce beautiful printed textiles.
Edwards (2016) contends that there is no distinct historical trace of block printing origins in India, and its origins remain mostly elusive. Block printing is considered to have originated in China during the T'ang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.) to reproduce text and illustrations (Britannica, 2015) mechanically. The matter to be printed was engraved in wooden blocks, which were inked and pressed onto paper to create the desired impressions. In contrast, printing on textiles preceded printing on paper in India, Egypt, and Europe (Chopra et al., 2011). The method used for textile printing was the same as that used for paper printing – inked blocks were pressed onto the fabric surface to achieve the required print patterns. In this method, a primary block impression is repeated on the fabric surface to complete the design across the selected fabric area (Kaur et al., 2013). According to Edwards (2016), clear evidence of block printing emerges only from around the medieval period, with the earliest proof emerging from Egypt and Indonesia.
History of Block Printing in India:
Origins of block-making and block-printing in India have been traced back to Gujarat in the west and Andhra Pradesh in the south. Historical evidence suggesting that block printing in India had been in practice as far back as 3000 BC and was being exported to China as early as 4th century B.C., as recorded by Robinson (1969).
Although material evidence of block printed fabrics have been found in the ruins of Mohenjo Daro, the famous city of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation (circa 3000 B.C.), block printed textiles in India gained prominence only around the 12th century A.D., mostly as statecraft under royal patronage (Hobbins,2007). Surat, in Gujarat, was one of the earliest centers where printed and painted textiles found their own identity and distinction (The Art of Block Printing, 2015). Surat is one of India's most prominent textile-producing centers known for sarees, printed dress material, and home furnishings. Gujarat has a long coastline. Its multiple ports and the vibrant trading network of the Indian Ocean gave it a natural advantage in promoting the commercial success of printed textiles. Most of these prints were based on designs and patterns from the Middle East, so the fabrics were printed in India and shipped to the Middle East (Chopra et al., 2011).
Designs such as the one in Figure 2 have the most in common with contemporary Ajrakh designs (possibly derived from the Arabic word Azraq, which means blue). Some of the fragments found in Fustat, Egypt, from the 15th and 16th centuries resemble typical Ajrakh designs. Ajrakh prints consist of symmetrical geometrical patterns made of squares, stars, circles, and ellipses rendered in red, blue, and white created with resist and mordant techniques (Dua, 2016), similar to the methods used to develop the Fustat fragments (Williamson, 2016).
According to popular legend, as documented by Dua (2016), the art of Ajrakh printing made its way from Sind to Dhamadka in Kutch in 1586 with the forefathers of present-day Kutchi printers at the behest of Raja Bharmal I. This is consistent with legends that claim block-printing came to Gujarat first through the Sind region, having originated in Iran in the Mughal period. The printing would be done by members of the Khatri community in Kutch, and the blocks would be made by the Gajjar and Suthar community of Pethapur (Dua, 2016).
In the mid-19th century, similar trade also happened with clients from Thailand (Siam). The emergence of such trade eventually gave rise to what is known as 'Saudagiri' prints, the name being derived from the Persian word sauda, which means "to trade" (Sunanda, 2009). The Siamese people would refer to it as 'Pha Gujarat' ('Pha' means cloth) and use it as a lower garment. Saudagiri printing happened primarily in Ahmedabad, and the production of the blocks would be done by the master craftsmen of Pethapur (Bhatia & Bhatt, 2017). They still maintain extensive collections of Saudagiri designs.
Printing in Other Parts of India:
Due to a host of reasons such as the emergence of new trade routes, the founding of new cities (which would later act as major craft centers), and lack of work in their places of origin, trained artisans migrated to other parts the country. Cities such as Sanganer and Bagru in Rajasthan (both near Jaipur) and Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh became home to them, gaining eminence under royal patronage after the 17th century. The artisans involved in the carving of wooden blocks of Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh were believed to be influenced by Kashmir's Muslim woodcarvers Saharanpur (RUDA, 2011).
Despite such migrations, the eminence of Pethapur remained, and it is believed that at least some of those who migrated to Rajasthan was initially based in Gujarat. Historical references to the craft of block-printing invariably mention Pethapur, however briefly, as the source of the blocks hinting at the influence of Pethapur on major centers. The table below summarizes some of India's major block-printing centers, which, despite their similarities, had some distinct, distinguishing features.
