- Publisher
- Abbeville Press
- Published
- 2009
- Shelf
- culture: India
- ISBN
- 9780789210470
India
Handmade in India
Aditi Ranjan & M. P. Ranjan
A state-by-state survey of India's craft traditions, compiled by designers from the National Institute of Design.
Why read it
It is organised by region and by material rather than by style, so the thing most books on Indian craft miss comes through clearly: a technique exists where it does because of a clay, a fibre, a river, or a court that once paid for it. Craft as geography.
Why own it
Five hundred and seventy-nine pages and several thousand objects, much of it documenting practices with very few remaining practitioners. As a reference it is unmatched; as a record it is steadily becoming a primary source.
Who it is for
Anyone designing with Indian craft, and anyone who thinks "traditional" names one thing.
Opens a search on AbeBooks, a network of independent and antiquarian sellers, which is where a good part of this shelf has to be found, because it is out of print.
Read next
Chosen because they argue with this one, not because a machine noticed they share a category.
