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Calico Museum
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| About Calico Museum
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Ahmedabad houses one of the finest textile museums in the world in one of Gujarat's famous carved wooden havelis. The museum displays a magnificent collection of rare textiles dating back to the 17th century. There is also an excellent reference library on textiles.
Located in the Sarabhai Foundation, in Shahibagh the Calico Museum of Textiles, widely regarded as one of the finest textile museums in the world was constructed in 1949 AD. It has the finest collection of not just textiles and clothes but also furniture, temple artifacts and crafts in the country.
It has no less than five centuries of the finest fabrics spun, woven, printed and painted in different parts of India. It has a collection of marble, sandstone and bronze icons and busts split in two thematic sections- gallery for religious textiles and historical textiles. An excellent reference library on textiles is found here.
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| Fabulous collection
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There are colourful embroidered wall hangings depicting Krishna legends hanging from the second floor right to the ground level. Cloth decorated with tie-dye, glinting mirror work, screen prints, block prints and intricate embroidery are also seen. There is an embroidered tent and the robes of Shah Jahan, along with elaborate carpets and plump cushions that once furnished Muslim palaces.
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| Jain Section
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The Jain section features statues housed in a replica Haveli Temple, along with centuries-old manuscripts and 'mandalas' painted on palm leaves.
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| Specialties
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Among exhibits are Kashmiri shawls, Kullu embroidery, glittering silk brocades from Varanasi, folk art from the Punjab and masks and large wooden temple cars (processional vehicles) from Tamil Nadu.
Tribal crafts such as, Kachchhi silk and cotton 'mashru' weaving are displayed in spectacular wooden 'havelis' from Patna and Siddhpur. There are clear and labelled models and diagrams explaining the weaving, dyeing and embroidery processes. The collection also includes some of the best examples of the Patola saris woven in Patan as well as the extravagant Zari work that gilds saris in heavy gold stitching which weigh almost nine kilos.
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