Clothing and Jewelry
Dress and Jewelry of Women: Satavahana to Kakatiya by C.S. Uma Maheswari. New Era Publications: Madras, 1999.
- The actual reading is fairly useful, although the author is somewhat unclear on the descriptions of some articles, but it nicely limits itself to a fairly specific subject, and so gives a more thorough review. Strangely, it's divided by epigraphical and literary references and then sculptural references, which isn't so useful for making sense of a single garment, especially with no index. Pictures are pretty bad, but at least they are copious and of a specific era.
Indian Costume by G.S. Ghurye. Popular Prakashan: Bombay, 1995.
ISBN 81-7154-403-7
- Reviews the large eras of Indian costume - to 320BC, 320BC-320AD, 320-1100AD, 1100-1800AD, and then the contemporary clothing of each region. In that it does survey the clothing over time, it's a reasonable overview, but it lacks depth once you become interested in a specific era. Also, the picture quality is extremely poor - B&W, small, and blurry. And because it is so broad, the depth on any part of the SCA-era is fairly small.
Traditional Jewelry of India by Oppi Untracht. Henry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers: New York, 1997.
ISBN 0-8109-3886-3
- Wonderful pictures and a comprehensive overview of jewelry styles that exist today. It attempts to trace a possible evolution, but has little to no historic research in it. It does have a wonderful collection of examples of various kinds of jewelry and discussion of its current cultural significance. A great place to go to figure out what a given peice of jewelry looks like, and to get inspired.
The Sari: Styles, Patterns, History, Techniques by Linda Lynton. Harry N. Abrams, Inc, Publishers: New York, 1995.
ISBN 0-8109-4461-8
- A good look at modern saris and regional styles. It does some overview of the history of draping, textile terms, and iconography, but it is best as a first look at the general idea of saris.
Traditional Fashions from India Paper Dolls by Ming-Ju Sun. Dover Publications, Inc: Mineola, NY, 2001.
ISBN 0-486-41328-4
- Seems goofy, but it's a pretty decent look at a wide variety of traditional Indian garments, particularly draping styles - how they hang on a human form, what color combinations are appropriate, etc. No pretense at history, a good starting place. All female.
Indian Jewellery by M. L. Nigam. Tiger Books International: London, 1999.
ISBN 1-84056-029-0
- Contains a really great look at Indian jewelry through the various historic ages of India. Also discusses temple and tribal jewelry, along with the gems and techniques used to make it. Lots of great pics, discussion of periods of history is somewhat lacking in descriptions, but has a copious list of types of jewelry that can be researched elsewhere.
Saris: an illustrated Guide to the Indian Art of Draping by Chantal Boulanger. Shakti Press International: New York, 1997.
ISBN 0-9661496-1-0
- Single best book on sari wrapping! Her main focus is not historic sari drapes, but rather preserving the wide variety of modern drapes. But she's got a good perspective on the subject of history, and she has included drapes based on her own historical research. The sketches and instructions are the best I have yet to encounter, and I've never seen another book so comprehensive.
NEW - Cut My Cote by Dorothy K. Burnham. Royal Ontario Museum: Ontario, 1977.
ISBN 0-88854-046-9
- This is very tiny book, with a lot to say. It's about 34 pages long, but in those 34 pages it contains an intense discussion of cut upper garments around the world. It's got a lot of great construction pictures of various shirts and coats, along with cutting layouts and seam lines. There's nothing particularly Indian, although there are garments from Asia and the Middle East. Nonetheless, it's a good discussion of garment construction, and enlightening for any costumer looking to see how different garments are put together.
Textiles
Textiles and Ornaments of India ed. by Monroe Wheeler, texts by Pupul Jayakar and John Irwin. The Museum of Modern Art: New York, 1956.
- small book with a very light history of textiles through history. Definitely not a heavy source, but the approach is very Western-friendly, and the pictures show a wide variety of different modern textiles and ornaments. It does have a great picture of a 12th century block print. Pictures are almost all B&W, and the descriptions are not so technical.
Tradition and Beyond: Handcrafted Indian Textiles ed. by Martand Singh, text by Rta Kapur Chishti and Rahul Jain. Lustre Press and Roli Books: New Delhi, 2000.
ISBN 81-7436-084-0
- an absolutely gorgeous book covering the various techniques of Indian textiles. Most of the pictures revolve around the modern use of traditional techiques in new and interesting ways. The introduction to each technique does a great review of the history of the technique, along with historic examples, many of which hit our time frame.
Indian Block-Printed Cotton Fragments in the Kelsey Museam the University of Michigan by Ruth Barnes. University of Michigan Press: Ann Arbor, 1993.
ISBN 0-472-10293-1
- A definite favorite of mine! Tons and tons of pictures of extant textile fragments believed to be mostly Indian exports. Also a great discussion of technique and possible materials.
NEW - Master Dyers to the World: Techinique and Trade in Early Indian Dyed Cotton Textiles by Mattiebelle Gittinger. The Textile Museum: Washington, D.C., 1982.
ISBN0-87405-020-0
- All I can say is WOW! This is really a dream come true for me. Tons of great Fustat textiles, with insightful commentary on technique, plus some great images of textile paintings from my specific time and place - late 16th century Southern India. The painting are of a wide variety of people in garb including Indians, Portugese, Arabs, and tribal people. Not everything in this book is historic, but the stuff that's there is very much worth it.
Indian Textiles in the Seventeenth Century by Dr. Satya Prakash Sangar. Reliance Publishing House: New Delhi, 1998.
ISBN 81-7510-023-0
- A really geeky but really useful look at the early European travel logs documenting imports from India. The details on the precise technique or patterns of the textiles are lacking, but the record of the general type of fabric moved to Europe is extremely useful.
Sexual Treastises
Koka Shastra: Medieval Indian Writings on Love, Based on the Kama Sutra trans. by Alex Comfort. Simon & Schuster Editions: New York, 1997.
ISBN 0-684-83981-4
- A great first book on this subject. It reviews the erotic texts that come after the Kama Sutra, and their context within Indian society as it evolves over time. Also contains a translation of the Koka Shastra text and many, many ....inspiring pictures - none of which were made in our period, although the texts are entirely within our time frame. Certainly interesting, if not culturally enlightening.
Ananga Ranga: the Hindu Art of Love Illustrated, Complete and Unexpurgated. Medical Press of New York: New York, 1964.
- My favorite of the sex books. This publication is a combination of a translation of the Anana Ranga, a period text on sex techniques, and Pharmacopeia "Ars Amoris Indica" a set of recipes to fix sex-related human ailments. The Anana Ranga contains some interesting viewpoints on how men view women and how at least one historic author thinks the two should relate. The Pharmacopia has recipes for everything from cosmetics, to birth control, to impotency prevention, to abortives, to birthing assistance. A pretty neat insight into some of the materials available and some of the health treatments related to them.
The Love Teachings of the Kama Sutra trans. by Indra Sinha. Marlowe and Company: New York, 1980.
ISBN 1-56924-779-X
- Excerpts of the juicier tidbits of the Kama Sutra, Ananga Ranga, Koka Shastra and other texts. It doesn't say which text it's quoting, and the pictures are largely out of period. So it's not the greatest resource, but it's probably the most relaxing reading, and can give a general cultural overview, since all three texts pre-date 1600.
The Complete Kama Sutra trans. by Alain Danielou. Park Street Press: Rochester, VT, 1994.
ISBN 0-89281-525-6
- No collection of sexual treastises should be without a copy of the famous Kama Sutra, and if you're gonna get one, this is the one to get. It's complete, with all the verses cut in the Victorian era translations. And it deals with the topic in a scholarly manner. Generally a good read for some cultural insight.
Embroidery
Zardozi: Glittering Gold Embroidery by Charu Smita Gupta. Abhinav Publications: New Delhi, 1996.
ISBN 81-7017-319-1
- A great resource on the history and technique of gold metal thread embriodery, with many fabulous color plates. Unfortunately, the history on our time period is very sketchy, with very, very little extant works or very clear literary references to this technique. But what little there seems to be, is certainly well-noted here, along with comprehensive information on the modern techniques and references to historic techniques where applicable.
Embriodery, v. 35, no. 2, Summer 1984, ed. by Christine Bloxham. Published by Arthur Wright, copyright the Embroiderer's Guild.
ISSN 0013-6611
- Has a neat modern article on Lambadi Tribal Embroidery, another article has a few example from Gujerat with no dates. Also a nice article on metal embroidery. All modern, but generally worth it for some inspiration.
The Techniques of Indian Embroidery by Anne Morrell. Interweave Press: Loveland, CO, 1995.
ISBN 1-883010-08-X
- A great look at the styles and techniques of Indian embroidery, particularly works made over the last 200 years. Not overly descriptive of technique, but enough to puzzle out how to do the stiches. Most comprehensive book I've gotten so far. Has only 1 or 2 pictures of extant works from our time period.
Design Motifs
Traditional Stencil Designs from India by Pradumna and Rosalba Tana. Dover Publications, Inc.: New York, 1986.
ISBN 0-486-25118-7
- A book of Indian-inspired stencil designs (black blobs in a pattern). Nothing historic, in fact many of the designs look pretty modern to me, although they have a nice Indian flavor.
Indian Textile Prints (& CD) Agile Rabbit Editions, 1999.
ISBN 90-5768-009-2
- A great set of period-feeling prints. Not having any dates, there's no guarantees, but they *feel* pretty good.
Paisleys and Other Textile Designs from India by K. Prakash. Dover Publications, Inc.: New York, 1994.
ISBN 0-486-27959-6
- It's a nice variety of designs, but much of it is not particularly appropriate to our time period, and there are no references to date or location for any of these patterns. But it can be worthwhile inspiration for what "feels" Indian...
Miscellaneous
Kannada English Dictionary by Rev. F. Kittel. Asian Educational Services: New Delhi, Madras, 1999.
ISBN 81-206-0049-5
- a very complete dictionary, but the words are listed in kannada characters first, transliterated and translated second. So it helps to have the original word. Appears to be the oldest and most complete of the three major dictionaries out there.
The Positive Background of Hindu Sociology, Book I. - Non-Political by Benoy Kumar Sarkar. AMS Press: New York, 1974.
ISBN 0-404-57839-X
- Meant to be an introduction to Sukra's Sukraniti, it analyzes a variety of anal details of the ancient Indian world, including geography, ethnography, mineralogy, botany, and zoology. Unforutunately, I haven't dug up a precise date or location for this text.
NEW - The Sukraniti by Benoy Kumar Sarkar. AMS Press: New York, 1974.
ISBN 0-404-57813-6
- This book is a system of morality, largely targeted at princes. It's also the source for the Positive Background of Hindu Sociology mentioned above. Unfortunately, I'm still looking for the date and location of the creation of this text.
NEW - The King and the Clown in South Indian Myth and Poetry by David Dean Shulman. Princeton University Press: Princeton, NJ, 1985.
ISBN 0-691-05457-6
- This is a literary discussion of the place of the king and the clown in Southern Indian literature. In the process, it gives some great incidental insight into the life and times of regular people, and some tantalizing bits of poetry and imagery useful for storytelling. I originally bought this as a storytelling resource, but now I believe that it's a better culture book, than a story resource. It's great for the SCA, which is such a king and nobility focused group - there's very little religion stuff, but a ton of ideas as to how to treat your king!
NEW - Indian Epigraphy by Richard Salomon. Oxford University Press: New York, 1998.
ISBN 0-19-509984-2
- This is my most geeky of all geeky books. Like it sounds, it's a book on Indian epigraphs - carvings, usually in stone, that are the bulk of what we know about pre-1000 AD India. The book is not about what we've learned from them, but about the types of epigraphs available, the languages they are in, and their development over time through the various eras. It quotes a number of epigraphs, and even talks about the lettering of them. I haven't really gotten to chew into it just yet, but I hope it will be a useful scribal source, and provide useful tidbits. One drawback - it's only for the Indo-Aryan languages, so the Dravidian languages are ignored. A real bummer for a South Indian like myself.
NEW - Tabo, a Lamp for the Kingdom: Early Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Art in the Western Himalaya by Deborah E. Klimburg Salter. Thames and Hudson, Inc.: New York, 1997.
ISBN 0-500-018375
- So... This one isn't even Indian! It's Tibetan! And not Hindu, but Buddhist! So, not quite my normal book. But it's just fabulous, it's got quite a bit of everything, the history of the monastery, the temple structure, the style of the art in the temple, and even some textile notes on the clothing in the figures in the paintings. There are alot of similarities between this temple and Indian structures, and the time period is quite a bit earlier than we usually see in India - 10th and 11th centuries. A fabulous book for anyone wanting to SCA Tibetan (please oh please! That would be SO cool!) and a pretty good read for the Indians.
Sexual Life in Ancient India by Johann Jakob Meyer. Dorset Press: New York, 1995.
ISBN 1-56619-888-7
- Not nearly as exciting as it sounds... A comprehensive and rather grim view of the position of women, marriage and love as described by ancient Indian literature. Pretty heavy, but probably has some neat tidbits.
Where Kings and Gods Meet: The Royal Centre at Vijayanagara, India by John M. Fritz, George Michell, and M.S. Nagaraja Rao. University of Arizona Press: Tucson, AZ, 1984.
ISBN 0-8165-0927-1
- Examination of the architectural structures that suggest a connection between the ruling powers and divinity. Gives an interesting perspective on some of the structures in the capital city of the empire.
Aditi: The Living Art of India. Smithsonian Institution Press: Washington, D.C., 1986.
ISBN 0-87474-853
- Examination of life in India from childhood to adulthood, examining family, traditional beliefs, and folk art forms. Entirely modern, but a nice explanation of many customs and an inspiration to study further. Great pictures.
Living Sculpture: Classical Indian Culture as Depicted in Sculpture and Literature by Prabhakar V. Begde. Sagar Publications: New Delhi, 1996.
ISBN 81-7082-010-3
- This book is so useful, I don't have a single category to put it in. It covers music/musical instruments, dance, clothing, jewelry, and hairstyles. The study centers on statuary from the 8th-11th centuries. Definitely my absolute favorite "Lakshmi sourcebook".
Ancient India: Land of Mystery. Time-Life Books: Alexandria, Virginia, 1994.
ISBN 0-8094-9037-4
- This is an overview of India written for the common man, but it's pretty neat in that it looks at a number of the prominent archeological sites with some great pictures and diagrams.
The Colours of Southern India by Barbara Lloyd by AnneMarie Schimmel & Stuart Cary Welch. Thames & Hudson, Ltd.: London, 1999.
ISBN 0-500-28134-3
- A pretty, happy, artsy book about all the wonderful colors of India. It's got excellent photography and decent descriptions, covering a wide variety of colorful images that you don't see in America. A nice "feeling of India" book.
The Dance of Siva: Essays on Indian Art and Culture by Ananda K. Coomaraswamy. Dover Publications, Inc.: New York, 1985.
ISBN 0-486-24817-8
- A set of fairly opinionated essays on various topics in Indian art and culture - both modern and historic. I don't always agree with them, but they make me think.
Anvari's Divan: A Pocket Book for Akbar by Annemarie Schimmel and Stuart Cary Welch. The Metropolitan Museum of Art: New York, 1983.
ISBN 0-87099-331-3
- A book about a book from the beginning of the Mughal era - during Akbar's reign. Speaks about Akbar's reign, his influence on the arts, the art of book making, and the story of Anvari's Divan, as well as pictures of every page of the book.