The Printress Of The Mughal Garden

Brigitte Singh first came to Sanganer, Jaipurs hand blockprinting centre, as a student of miniatures, and today, 30 years later, the visual almanac of her work gives us a truly alternate way to read medieval and modern civilisational encounters through the evolution and transmission of motifs and craft techniques over centuries. Singhs exquisite work with blockprints is a form of re-enacted design history, rendered in visual rather than textual terms. Uncovering and reaching down to the purer forms, to the composite aesthetic of the 18th century, it offers a singular source of access to a seminal epoch in design. This volume illustrates how Singh has approached her craft with an archaeological devotion, peeling off dusty layers from the long-obscured story of blockprinting in the subcontinent. Her work yields a truly Indian aesthetic, fully formed and yet open to influences, full of grand narratives but so dense with detail and meaning that in every telling, something new and essential is revealed both to the raconteur and the audience. With Introduction by Laila Tyabji, and contributions by Jasleen Dhamija, Rosemary Crill, Jacqueline Thom� Jacqu�, Michel Biehn, Sheela Reddy, Paola Manfredi, Chandramani Singh, Sunil Menon and Aleta Bartel.

"Brigitte Singh first came to Sanganer, Jaipur's hand-blockprinting centre, as a student of miniatures three decades ago. Today, the visual almanac of her work gives us a truly alternate way to read medieval and modern civilisational encounters--through the evolution and transmission of motifs and craft techniques over centuries. Brigitte Singh's exquisite work with blockprints is a form of re-enacted design history, rendered in visual rather than textual terms. Uncovering and reaching down to the purer forms, to the composite aesthetic of the 18th century, it offers a singular source of access to a seminal epoch in design. This volume illustrates how Singh has approached her craft with an archaeological devotion, peeling off dusty layers from the long-obscured story of blockprinting in the subcontinent. Her work yields a truly Indian aesthetic, fully formed and yet open to influences, full of grand narratives but so dense with detail and meaning that in every telling, something new and essential is revealed both to the raconteur and the audience. This book has been enhanced with five augmented reality videos, each linked to a photograph marked with the [play] symbol. These videos--available on the BooksPlus mobile app--document the block carving process; the printing workshop; Brigitte Singh narrating the story of Jaipur print; the stitching process; and Brigitte Singh speaking about her creative journey. To play the videos, please follow the instructions given on the copyright page." -- Publisher's description

Papers presented at a symposium organized by British Museum and sponsored by TV Asia, March 26, 1993.

The first-ever adult coloring book from India brings the romance of Mughal gardens alive, through the classic patterns created by India s best-known design company, Good Earth. Using lush details from its eclectic design directory, Good Earth takes you on a journey of discovery in Bagh-e-Bahar: A Mughal Garden. With its trademark combination of Persian, Central Asian and indigenous Indian styles, it narrates the story of these beautiful gardens, full of immortal quotes from the mystical Sufi poet, Rumi. Sumptuously designed, this delightful book is a design classic and the perfect gift, both to yourself as well as to others seeking to de-stress and explore their creative self.

Papers presented at the International Seminar on 'Mughal Gardens of Kashmir: Towards the UNESCO World Heritage Nomination', held at University of Kashmir during 14-16 May 2011.

'Lavish ... a celebration of the history and enduring romance of Islamic gardens' Washington Post As seen on the highly acclaimed BBC2 series Monty Don's Paradise Gardens, a glorious celebration of the richness of Islamic culture through some of the most beautiful gardens on earth. In the Islamic tradition, a garden with its central elements of water, the scent of fruit trees, and places for rest and reflection, celebrate heaven on earth. Paradise gardens play a central role in everyday life in the Islamic world, yet little is known about them. Monty Don and acclaimed photographer, Derry Moore, set off on a journey to find out more about the principles and immersive delights of paradise gardens and how a very different culture and climate has influenced garden design round the world. Their journey covers twenty-nine gardens from the Real Alcazar and the Alhambra in Spain, and Le Jardin Majorelle in Morocco, to Highgrove and a Mughal garden in Bradford in England. There are some spectacular and rarely seen examples such as Pasargadae and the Maidan in Isfahan, Iran, the birthplace of paradise gardens, as well as the more renowned examples such as Turkey's Topkapi Palace and the Amber Palace and Taj Mahal in India. 'A garden, green and filled with water is heaven on earth - it is paradise.' Monty Don ALSO BY MONTY DON & DERRY MOORE JAPANESE GARDENS: A JOURNEY An exploration of the exquisite beauty and fascinating history of the most beautiful and famous gardens across Japan, from Kenrok-en to the Zen gardens of Tokyo. 'A fabulous, bonsai-filled book' Daily Mail

"India retains one of the richest painting traditions in the history of global visual culture, one that both parallels aspects of European traditions and also diverges from it. While European artists venerated the landscape and landscape paintings, it is rare in the Indian tradition to find depictions of landscapes for their sheer beauty and mood, without religious or courtly significance. There is one glorious exception: Painters from the city of Udaipur in Northwestern India specialized in depicting places, including the courtly worlds and cities of rajas, sacred landscapes of many gods, and bazaars bustling with merchants, pilgrims, and craftsmen. Their court paintings and painted invitation scrolls displayed rich geographic information, notions of territory, and the bhāva, or feel, emotion, and mood of a place. This is the first book to use artistic representations of place to trace the major aesthetic, intellectual, and political shifts in South Asia over the long eighteenth century. While James Tod, the first British colonial agent based in Udaipur, established the region's reputation as a principality in a state of political and cultural deterioration, author Dipti Khera uses these paintings to suggest a counter-narrative of a prosperous region with beautiful and bountiful cities, and plentiful rains and lakes. She explores the perspectives of courtly communities, merchants, pilgrims, monks, laypeople, and officers, and the British East India Company's officers, explorers, and artists. Throughout, she draws new conclusions about the region's intellectual and artistic practices, and its shifts in political authority, mobility, and urbanity"--

"Portraiture, the depiction of nature, and the illustration of margins in manuscripts - considered significant facets of Mughal painting - are looked at closely. Technical skills, motifs, and the symbolism so characteristic of this period are also discussed extensively. This volume also analyses the influence of European Renaissance art on Mughal painting." "Enriched by the historian's craft this book is significant for the wide appeal it commands - it will not only interest serious scholars of Mughal history and cultural studies, but also art historians, connoisseurs of art, and those interested in the development of painting in South Asia."--Jacket.