Jaipur Quilts

Description

Book Specification

Item Code:	NAK524
Author:	Krystyna Hellstrom
Publisher:	Niyogi Books
Language:	English
Edition:	2012
ISBN:	9788192091259
Pages:	204 (Throughout Color Illustrations)
Cover:	Paperback
Other Details	10.5 inch x 8.5 inch
Weight	750 gm

Book Description

About the Book

Jaipur, the famed Pink City of Rajasthan conjures up images of a bygone era in the mind’s eye. Of royalty and stories of gallantry and battlefield valour; of a desert landscape poised against vivid shades of colour; of art and aesthetics and above all, its vibrant people. Built in AD 1727, the splendour of its palaces and forts and the breathtaking array of its traditional crafts continue to attract tourists and connoisseurs of history and art from all corners of the world. The Jaipur textile industry has for long, inspired countless artists and designers to create exquisite products of both beauty and utility. The Jaipuri razai is a perfect example of this exclusive trend in its display of excellent traditional craftsmanship and aesthetic beauty as well as its high utility value.

About the Author

Krystyna Hellstrom was born in Poland and lives in Stockholm, Sweden. She studied interior design in Florence, Italy, and History of Art at Lund University, Sweden. Her thesis was on Jaipur and Provencal quilts.

Krystyna worked with Swedish Television and for Emilio Pucci in his fashion house in Florence, which was one of the best places in the world to learn about exquisite textiles and original design. Writing for interior design magazines has been a natural outlet for her creative and writing skills.

Having visited India and especially Jaipur many times since the early eighties, Krystyna learned about Jaipur quilts and the local quilt-making tradition on these visits.

Foreword

Jaipur has been my home for many years now and I have watched the city grow and change over these last three decades. From a population of barely eight lakh in the 1970s, the city is now bursting at its seams with a population of thirty-seven lakh. The look and feel of the city has also changed over the years with the city’s limits expanding and a lot of new buildings coming up in the new areas of the modern part of the city.

What hasn’t changed too much, thankfully, is the character of the Walled City, better known and recognised as the Pink City. The eighteenth century look and feel of the planned city still impresses and attracts the visitor. Even after having written extensively about the city and its numerous attractions, I still felt that there was so much more to discover and so much more to record.

One area that has been a little neglected is the craft segment. Jaipur is recognised the world over for its wide range of arts and crafts giving it a well-deserved reputation as a shoppers’ paradise. From jewellery to stoneware, from textiles to blue pottery … it’s a long, long list.

Among the many handcrafted items that the Pink City is famous for, the Jaipuri razai, or the Jaipur quilt occupies an important place. Block-printed cotton fabric with some exquisite designs carefully filled with as little as 250 gm (or more) of cotton -wool that is spread evenly and stitched in traditional patterns … In fact their popularity and reach can be gauged by the number of framed photographs of celebrity customers, from high ranking politicians to film stars, that are displayed in shops in the old city.