Indian Textiles, Dress and Jewellery

Short course

+44 (0)20 7942 2000

This ten-week Short Course will look in detail at the history, representation and extraordinary variety of textiles, dress and jewellery from across the subcontinent, the markets and patrons that supported them and their impact on Britain. V&A curators and expert speakers will discuss a wide range of these artefacts, their regional variations and their future. Examine objects from the V&A’s outstanding collections at first hand, as we track the rise of the Indian subcontinent as the greatest producer of handmade textiles in the world.

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Portrait of Course Leader Dr Sonia Ashmore

Course Leader
Dr Sonia Ashmore

Sonia Ashmore was a V&A Research Fellow for several years, helping to catalogue a large part of the museum’s South Asian textile collections. She published a pioneering book on Muslin (V&A 2012) and has also published on Liberty &Co., on cultural exchanges with Japan, on Sixties fashion and nineteenth and twentieth century shopping.

The V&A offers stimulating and rewarding short courses. I had the opportunity to expand my knowledge on periods of history of which I had limited experience. 2016/17 Short Course Student

Course overview

Textiles, dress and jewellery have all been integral aspects of a living culture in India. Craft workers of exceptional skill developed, and still practice, a huge range of techniques including dyeing, weaving, printing and embroidery, for use in producing religious images, tents for Mughal courts, elephant trappings, sumptuous silk saris, humble waist cloths, and jewellery made for princes or as the portable wealth of nomadic peoples. Alongside vibrant domestic markets for these goods, and an early export trade, Indian textiles were fundamental to the success of the British East India Company. As a result, the V&A has the most important collection of South Asian textiles – some ten thousand pieces – and related objects in the world today, from Mughal miniature paintings to folk jewellery.

This 10 week course will have a half term on the 31 May.

£507 full price, £456 over 60s, £380 concessions
(concessions are available for ES40 holders and registered disabled people)

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Explore the subjects you love

Delve deeper into the subjects you love in a group who share your passion, and enjoy guided access to the V&A collections with expert tutors and lecturers. Refreshments served on arrival each day.

Enrol now

Short course: Indian Textiles, Dress and Jewellery

19 April 2018 - 28 June 2018

£380.00 - £507.00

Call to book +44 (0)20 7942 2000

Need help enrolling? Talk to the admissions team:

+44 (0)20 7942 2000

Open 10.00 - 13.00, Monday to Sunday (closed 24-26 December)