Sara Noori
A2 Grantee
The Art and History of Qalamkār in Iran and India: Origins, Techniques, Colour, and Cultural Significance as a Living Heritage
Sara Noori is a PhD candidate in Art History at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU), Germany. Her research focuses on textile history, natural dyes, Islamic art, and transcultural exchanges between Iran, India, and Europe. She holds an MA in Textile Design and Sustainability from IED, Italy, and an MA in Carpet Studies (Raw Materials and Dyeing) from the University of Yazd, Iran.
This research examines one of the most significant cross-cultural artistic exchanges in the history of textiles. The art of painted and printed cloth—known as Qalamkār, Kalamkari, and Chintz—is a traditional craft with a 3,000-year history rooted in ancient South Asian and Persianate textile traditions. The term itself derives from the Persian qalam (pen) and kar (craftsmanship). In India, this tradition evolved into two distinct branches: Masulipatnam (utilizing block-printing and Persianate-Mughal motifs) and Srikalahasti (focused on hand-painted narrative temple cloths). As these fabrics entered European trade networks, they became known as Chintz or Sits.
Rather than seeking a single point of origin, this project traces the dynamic trajectory of these textiles as they moved across Iran, India, and Europe. Grounded in an object-based methodology, the study analyzes historical artifacts preserved in major international collections—such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, the British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin—focusing on the following dimensions:
- Terminology and Motifs: Investigating the shift in vocabulary, natural dyeing techniques, and ornamental patterns through transcultural exchange.
- Regional Traditions: Distinguishing between commercial block-printed textiles and sacred narrative compositions.
- Museum Afterlives: Reconstructing how these objects were renamed, reclassified, and reinterpreted within European decorative culture and modern museum taxonomies.
Ultimately, this project demonstrates that Kalamkari, Qalamkār and Chintz should not be viewed as static local crafts, but rather as dynamic, transregional phenomena in global art history.