In wooden hand blocks used for printing on fabric the Gad is part of the set and is carved in intaglio style and used as the background filler. The asl or outline block fits within the outline printed by the gad block of the same set of blocks that form the pattern. There are normally two or more cylindrical holes drilled into the gad blocks thickness, connecting the upper surface to the carved lower surface. These holes free the air bubbles and excess printing paste while printing.

Toy cart.

Embroidery design for churi, Gracia Jat in Kutch Gujarat.

An older, more traditional name for churi in Kutch, Gujarat.

Full skirt worn by women of western India.

Full, gathered skirt.

Marigold flower motif in North Indian textiles.

Elephant motif in the ikat saris of Orissa.

Form of Goddess Lakshmi lustrated by elephants.

Precious silken cloth mainly found in Gujarat.

Oak galls produced by the egg of an insect, -the female gall wasp. An excrescence is produced round the egg, and the insect, when developed, pierces a hole and escapes. Those gall nuts which are not pierced contain most tannic acid. The best come from Aleppo and Turkey.

Towel fabric

Elephant-headed god. The remover of obstacles, worshipped by Hindus before undertaking any fresh venture.

Pentagonal embroidered hanging with images of Ganesh and his wives Siddi and Buddhi, usually hung on the wall of farming houses in Saurashtra in Gujarat for ceremonial occasions.

A particular type of floor painting in Rajasthan.

Playing Cards/ ganjifa and the games played with them, probably came to India with the first Mughals from Central Asia. The classic ganjifa with 96 cards and the standard eight suits has lent itself to Hinduisation into its 10 or 12 suited variant with the theme of dashavatara or the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu. Traditionally the cards were painted on roundels cut out from cloth, treated with lac, gum and chalk or pata, while ivory, tortoise shell, mother of pearl and ordinary paper were also used. Probably originating in the Deccan around the 17th century, the dashavatara ganjifa spread to Rajasthan, Bengal, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

Inner sanctum, literally abode or place of residence.

Lit. house garment. Red cotton sari with a grid-like pattern of gold and silver brocade work in which are set tie- and-dye dot motifs of women, elephants, flowers, etc worn traditionally by women from Gujarat.

Mythical eagle and vehicle of Vishnu.

Fair, white.

The white one - an appellation of Parvati, Shiva’s consort.

A general term applied to light, sheer or open fabrics.

Stitch in kasuti embroidery of Karnataka.

Abbreviation for a directly designed galvano screen. The screen mesh and the pattern are ‘grown’ on a mandrel at one and the same time.

Red earthen substance used as a pigment.

Pitchers for water made of either terracotta or metal.

In handcrafting precious ornaments in North India this is the term used for the process of shaping by hammering, soldering or casting the metal into the required size and shape.

The traditional metal workers of West Bengal, now semi-nomadic and closely related to the Malhars of Bihar and the Situlias of Orissa. They live in the districts of Bakura, Burdwan, Midnapore and Purulia all close to the Chhota Nagpur region of Bihar where the Malhars live in the hills and forests, close to the different local tribal people.

Mixed brocade fabric of Uttar Pradesh. Indigenous name of satinette.

Votive painted terracotta horse riders of Darbhanga, Bihar.

Pestle

A triangular embroidered or appliquéd cover which fits over the ears and neck of a horse.

Ghumat Dome-shaped lamp receptacle for deity in Gujarat.

Paper toy.

A circular thin stiff wire used for embroidery.

After picking, seed cotton has to be cleaned before spinning as it contains only about one-third fibres, the rest being made up of seed and linters. The first ginning removes only the best lint or fibre. The seeds are then put through a second ginning to remove the cotton linters which are used in rayon manufacture.

The action of polishing or burnishing.

The application of a glue or a viscous substance to the surface of a fabric to enable decorative elements to be attached.

Orissan toys made from cowdung.

Triangular piece of fabric inserted into a dress or glove to add fullness.

Tattoo designs executed on the skin.

Lord Krishna’s birthday.

Brocaded border design of Maheshwari sari, Madhya Pradesh.

Thread formed from finely beaten gold ribbon usually wrapped around a core fibre.

Water pitchers with handle-rings in Gujarat.

Make-shift staircase made during Dussehra in South India.

Catapult

Female cowherds, or milk maids.

Bullock-cart rider in West Bengal, often depicted in clay moulding.

Room of the family deity in Bihar.

Village deity.

About 15 ½ grains (Troy).

The background weave or foundation of the fabric into which supplementary elements are interlaced.

Type of chisel used by craftsmen of Tirupathi, Andhra Pradesh.

Wall plaster with glue applied on the surface of papier mache objects to create a smooth surface for printing.

Scroll paintings of Bengal that depict a single story.

Sandalwood carvers of Mysore.

Embroidered wedding blouse or coat in Sind and Kutch.

Heavy pendant worn on the temples by the women of the Lambadi or Sugali tribe. An essential sign of marriage, its absence is a sign of widowhood.

Rose, a popular motif in Indian painting, craft and textile.

Mixed brocade fabric woven all over Northern India.

Silk warp-faced cloth in a multicoloured, vertically striped design. Worn as a turban or sash in Sind, west Rajasthan and Banni Kutch.

Renowned Indo-Persian decorative motif of a flower vase or flower pot.

Literally thousand-petalled flower, term used for a particular floral pattern employed by the papier mache painters of Kashmir.

Flower motif in the painted pottery of Kutch, Gujarat.

Traditional North Indian game played with two small sticks.

Natural gum used as a dye base in printing and as a table gum to glue the fabric down onto the neoprene printing surface.

The Chitrakar or Patua community of West Bengal especially in Midnapur, Murshidabad, Birbhum and Purulia districts, employ bright vegetable colours in their scroll paintings or gundano patas. These depict a single story on the entire scroll. Each scene is bound in a floral border that separates it from the one next to it on the vertical paper panel. These religious themes painted and narrated by the patuas.

The gurz, a mace had a spherical head and several pointed spikes were attached to it. The handle was made of steel and was 90 to 120 centimetres in length. Some gurz were fitted with sword hilts.

Piece of material sewn into a garment, usually at the crotch or underarm.