The museum will be showcasing Lord Vishnu avatars on silk in its Fabric of India exhibition from October 3 to January 10. Dated around 1570, this display will include a Hindu narrative cloth in silk lamps weave, depicting avatars of Lord Vishnu.
The exhibition also promises to showcase over 200 objects from the 3rd to the 21st century, including Tipu Sultan's spectacular 18th-century tent, a stunning range of historic costume, highly prized textiles for international trade and cutting-edge fashion by celebrated Indian designers.
It will be “the first exhibition to fully explore the incomparably rich world of handmade textiles from India”, presenting hand-made objects including sacred temple hangings and some expressing religious devotion and examining how fabrics were used in spiritual life. “Sacred fabrics created for temples and shrines would employ the best of available materials and highest levels of craftsmanship,” Museum release says.
Some fragments of this Indian fabric will be curated by Rosemary Crill and Divia Patel and designed by Gitta Geschwendtner. The Fabric of India brings together the best of the V&A's world-renowned collection alongside renowned masterworks displayed for the first time.
