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INSPIRATIONALLY YOURS - MUDMEE SILK


Textile exhibitions in Delhi are few and far between, therefore this organised by The Royal Thai Embassy , New Delhi, Republic of India, in collaboration with The National Museum, New Delhi and The Thai Khadi Research Institute, Thammasat University was a stunner and eye opener to say the least. It had on display some fabulous selection of Thai Mudmee – weft ikat fom Thailand.  This was seeing a lot of it for the first time and what a sight to behold it was. The exhibition had on display fabulous Thai silk threads, there was a short film of the rearing of the cocoons to the reeling and weaving of the silk. What was a stunner was the brilliant single ikat on display. Single ikat unlike what we have seen from Gujarat,  Andhra Pradesh or Orissa. The depth of the motifs, colours all fit in beautiful. What added the extra dimension to the exhibition was the display of textiles both antique, vintage and of course contemporary. It not only helped understand the textile and its innovation better but also proved an eye opener to the wealth of motifs. The motifs are extremely interesting drawing from the vast repertoire – including auspicious ones like Naga serpents, banana flowers and roosters. 

The exhibition highlighted how Thai silk was such an entrenched part of the cultural heritage of


Thailand. The silk cultivation has been done over centuries in the North eastern part of the country – Isaan where several villages cultivate mulberry trees and rear silkworms.  The silkworms produces golden yellow cocoons which gives a soft lustrous goldenish coloured distinctive Thai silk. The word Mudmee means literally tying of the silk yarns before weaving. The weft threads are tied in distinctive patterns and then the weaving commences. The motifs are a combination of figurative and geometrical patterns. The weaving was a part of the life of the people and it was possible to identify the village from which a particular person was from the motifs on the silk apparel worn. With modernisation, the silk weaving and mudmee diminished. It is because of the undying work done Queen Sirikit that mudmee Thai silk has gained its prominence and is considered a part of collection of several international designers. She has single handed promoted Thai silk, wearing it, adapting it, making it more “in” with today’s fashion. She entrusted a French couturier to work on bringing a contemporary look to the silk. Another aspect which happened was sending teams to villages to document, research and educate the weavers. This has helped in mudmee weaving spreading to several villages.

 

However, it was the Thai silk which was a textile lover’s treat. There was twill weave, plain weaves with an amazing array of motifs. The colours both natural and synthetic. There were combinations of eight pointed stars, four petal flowers, with dots and fabulous colour combinations. Rooster motifs, banana flowers. What stands out is that one particular piece could have an amalgam of these motifs which make it very interesting and unique to the observer.

The revival entailed introduction of newer colours, pastels included, new motifs and of course the length of the fabric was increased as also the width and the weaving on standard looms. This led to the fabric being available for making regular apparel. The silk industry and its product is a study in itself. Several master pieces were woven by Mr. Surachot Tamcharoen. The central field with motifs along the border is a common feature. It gave an insight into the textile weaving tradition of another country and the steps being taken to promote the handmade or handwoven silk Industry.

Another interesting aspect of Thai marketing programme for villages is the OTOP. OTOP stands for ‘One Tambon (meaning sub-district) One Product’. This is a local entrepreneurship stimulus programme which aims to support unique locally made and marketed products of each sub-district on tambon all over Thailand. It is modelled on the highly successful OVOP or one village one product model from Japan. OTOP covers a host of products including silk, apparel, handwoven, pottery etc.

 What would have been icing on the cake would have been sale of Thai silk and demonstration by weavers and that would have been mesmerising.

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