2. Jamdani or Jamdhani is a fine art weave attachment, intended
to enhance the look and appeal of the saree on which it is hand
woven.
Intending to improve the aesthetic appeal, it takes the form
of cotton and gold coloured thread weaving to create motifs of
geometric patterns and floral designs in colourful hues.
It is considered to be one of the most prized fabrics in the
world.
Jamdani weaving is time-consuming and labour-intensive
because of the richness of its motifs.
A genuine Jamdani saree will not cost less than Rs.2500.
JAMDANI
3. ORIGIN AND HISTORY
The name Jamdani is of Persian origin, “jam” means flower and “dani”
means vase.
In the first half of the 19th century, James Taylor described the
flowered Jamdani
TN Mukharji referred to this fabric as Jamdani muslin.
Though Jamdani has enjoyed immense popularity right from the
beginning, the art form bloomed during the Mughal period.
However, colonisation by the British saw a decline in the production of
this fabric.
Export of cheaper yarn from European countries in the 19th century was
one of the primary reasons for the decline of Jamdani.
Also, with the decline of Mughal rule in India, producers of Jamdani
were deprived of their most influential patrons.
4. WEAVING PROCESS
The base fabric for Jamdani is unbleached cotton yarn and the design
is woven using bleached cotton yarns so that a light-and-dark effect is
created.
The making of Jamdani involves the supplementary weft technique
along with the standard weft technique.
With the latter, the base sheer material is made on which thicker
threads are used to create designs.
Each of the supplementary weft motif is then added manually by
interlacing the weft threads with fine bamboo sticks using individual
spools.
This process results in the vibrant patterns that appear to float on a
shimmering surface, which is a feature unique to Jamdani sarees.
5. Today, however, price constraints have forced weavers to simplify their
designs.
The most remarkable part of this technique is that the pattern is not
sketched or outlined on the fabric.
Instead, it is drawn on a translucent graph paper and placed underneath
the warp.
The fabric is not just limited to sarees; scarves, handkerchiefs and
dupattas made out of this fine muslin are also extremely popular.
6. COLOURS
Two of the current favorites in jamdani styles are featured
here:
Self-coloured style: where the weavings are in the same
color as the base fabric, imparting an ethereal look to the
saree
Half-n-half style: where the inner and outer halves of the
saree are in complementary colors, giving a playful look to the
saree.
The base fabric is traditionally white, black and grey with
gold borders.
The motifs are often woven with maroon, white, green,
black, silver and golden coloured threads.
8. MOTIFS
The common motifs used on jamdani sarees are geometric pattern,
floral design, peacock, lotus, fish scale, lamp etc..
Some of the popular motif includes,
Panna Hajar (Thousand Emeralds),
Butidar (Small Flowers),
Fulwar (Flowers Arranged In Straight Rows),
Tersa (Diagonal Patterns),
Jalar (Motifs Evenly Covering The Entire Saree),
Duria (Polka Spots)
Charkona (Rectangular Motifs)
9.
10. TYPES OF JAMDANI
Jamdani sarees can be classified based on the type of motifs or
the region where they are produced.
Dhakai Jamdani (Bangladesh) - These are the original and the finest
of jamdani sarees with the most elaborate workmanship. One such saree
could take from 9 months to a year to weave.
Tangail Jamdani (Bangladesh) – Woven in the Tangail district, these
jamdani sarees have traditional broad borders featuring lotus, lamp and
fish scale motifs.
Shantipur Jamdani (India) – Woven in Shantipur, West Bengal, these
jamdani sarees are similar to Tangail jamdanis. They have a fine texture
and often, elegant striped motifs decorate the saree.
Dhaniakhali Jamdani (India) – With its origin in Dhaniakhali, West
Bengal, these jamdani sarees have tighter weave compared to the
Tangail and Shantipur varieties. They are marked by bold colours and
dark, contrasting borders
