LOST & LOOTED - The Fate of Bejeweled Textiles and Gemstone Carpets

Authors

Anou Lunia Singhvi, Independent ScholarFollow

Date of this Version

2024

Document Type

Presentation

Citation

Textile Society of America 2024 Symposium

Shifts & Strands: Rethinking the Possibilities and Potentials of Textiles, November 12-17, 2024, a virtual event

Comments

Published by the Textiles Society of America

Copyright 2024, the author. Used by permission

Abstract

I would like to present my family's role in shaping my love for Bejeweled Textiles, my father, P. C. Lunia was a reclusive genius extra-ordinaire, he created what no other jeweler would dare put--majestic gemstone chandeliers, fine silver gem studded sculptures and monumental textile art bejeweled with the powerful energy of gemstones He worked with the likes of Harry Winston, Cartier and Adler, jewelry houses known to the whole world. As a visual artist and performer why was I attracted to this luxurious medium, in the timeless genre of Agra Gemstone Carpets that rose into prominence in Mughal India, when the trend in art was to work with everyday objects and create art out of them? Why does the power of gemstones intrigue me and what role textiles can play when bejeweled with precious gemstones showcasing them into the outside world whereas they are traditionally put in vaults and exposed to the world sparingly?

The stories of how these objects d'art were used for royal gift-giving and political purposes and why is the red carpet a bequest of this grand tradition? All of these questions intrigues me and linger within me everyday of my life.

I feel sad that there is next to no representation of them in Museums, apart from a Pearl Carpet of Baroda in the National Museum of Qatar, but more importantly why is that so? There is a hole, a missing narrative that can throw light on the socio political realities of olden times.