How to buy Qalamkar block printing

Definition

Qalamkar denotes cotton cloth decorated with dense repeating pattern applied by carved wooden printing blocks, historically combined with mordant dyeing and, in the finest work, some hand-finishing with a pen (the word qalam refers to this pen or reed tool). The term is used both for the technique and for the finished tablecloths, curtains and hangings it produces.

Unlike embroidery-based textiles, qalamkar pattern is built up through successive printing and dyeing stages, with different blocks applying outline and then colour fills, so registration between blocks is a central technical concern that directly affects the crispness of the finished design.

History

Block-printed and resist-dyed cotton is documented in Isfahan from at least the Safavid period, when the city's textile workshops served both domestic use and trade along routes connecting Iran to South Asia and Europe, regions with related but distinct block-printing traditions of their own. The exact lines of technical exchange between these traditions are not fully settled in the published literature.

Production continued through the Qajar and Pahlavi periods, adapting palette and subject matter for changing markets, including tourist and export demand in the twentieth century which favoured recognisable motifs such as the paisley-like boteh and garden scenes over more specialised religious or narrative imagery.

Materials

Plain-weave cotton cloth is the standard ground. Mordants, traditionally derived from materials such as alum, fix natural dyes to the fibre, while carved pear or other close-grained wood blocks carry the design.

• Cotton cloth as the printing ground
• Carved wooden printing blocks, one per colour or outline stage
• Mordants to fix dye to the fibre
• Natural dyes historically, with synthetic dyes common in later production