India and Pakistan

The stature of the Indian subcontinent remains unequaled among the world’s textile producers. The region’s rich variety of woven, printed, dyed, and embroidered textile traditions in cotton and silk dates back thousands of years. The Henry Art Gallery’s textile holdings represent 24 states in India and Pakistan and reflect the complex religious, linguistic, ethnic, and caste relationships that define the social matrix of the region.

The major portion of the Henry Art Gallery’s Indian and Pakistani textiles comes from the collection of Elizabeth Bayley Willis, donated by Virginia and Prentice Bloedel and Mrs. Willis herself. This well-documented collection includes over 1,800 pieces and is one of the largest and most comprehensive of its kind in the United States. Willis, a curator and world traveler, made numerous trips to India from 1952 to 1964, collecting mostly contemporary textiles directly from the artisans who made them. During those years she was serving as an advisor to the Indian government on the presentation, marketing, and export of handicrafts and textiles. Willis documented pre-industrial village craft traditions, helped preserve traditional modes of textile production, and encouraged local industry. She intrepidly traveled thousands of miles under sometimes difficult conditions, visiting over 150 Indian cities, towns, villages and weaving centers, many in remote areas.

To see all of the textiles from this region represented in the Henry Art Gallery’s collection, go to the Collection Search on the Henry's Website.

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