BLOCK PRINTING & TEXTILES
The block-printing and textiles of Jaipur have been renowned for their exquisite patterns and colouring for at least two hundred and fifty years. The traditional prints and designs can determine which village you were from or marital status etc and the prints favoured greatly by the Mughal Emperors and their imperial courts, featured delicate floral sprays, spaced evenly on a white, pastel blue or yellow ground of fine cotton. The tradition of hand block printing has continued to exist on a parallel universe, stubbornly resistant to industrialization, and is to this day practiced without the aid of mechanization or computerization. It is this defiant indifference to mechanization that gives block printing the aura of a pure craft form and makes block printed textiles so highly regarded throughout the world.
Close to Jaipur are the famous towns of Sanganer and Bagru, both renowned for their block printing yet both places having their own unique styles and prints.