THE COSTUMES OF EIGHTEENTH CENTURY AMBER-JAIPUR THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF Doctor of Philosophy In HISTORY SUBMITTED BY SWANTI KULSHRESTHA UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF DR. SUMBUL HALIM KHAN (Associate Professor) DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH- 202002 (INDIA) 2019 Dr. Sumbul Halim Khan DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY Ph.D. ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY Associate Professor ALIGARH – 202002, INDIA Dated: September 13, 2019, Certificate This is to certify that this thesis entitled “The Costumes of Eighteenth Century Amber-Jaipur” has been carried out by Swanti Kulshrestha completed under my supervision. The thesis is suitable for submission for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History. Dr. Sumbul Halim Khan (Supervisior) i Acknowledgement I bow in reverence to almighty God who bestowed me with understanding and learning and who brought me out of ignorance and illiteracy. The humblest and deepest gratitude to the greatest educator of mankind. Without his bounty, grace and mercy this work would have never been accomplished. Words fall short to express my heartfelt gratitude and I bow my head to Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and to his great temple of education, where I have not only finished this task but prepared myself to face challenges of life. I wish to record my thankfulness and gratitude to a number of persons who helped me in the course of preparation of this thesis and with the help of their co-operation and positive direction, plentitude to this thesis become possible. I wish to express my sincere thanks and deep sense of gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Sumbul Halim Khan, under whose aegis this research work was started and completed. I appreciate her very systematic approach of working. I must mention that it was an opportunity to follow her instructions, guidelines and words that paved the way of my learning. Her research acumen, comments and questions encouraged, support and enlightened me. She has been a patience bearer of my mistakes and always supported my efforts in this work I can never repay the debt of gratitude that I owe to her. I am deeply thankful to Prof. Syed Ali Nadeem Rezavi the Chairman and Coordinator, Centre of Advanced Study, Department of History for providing research facilities in the department and teaching me the Ph.D courses and general guidance. I would like to express my thanks to Prof .B.L.Bhadani, and Prof. Yaqub for their kindness, help and useful discussions. I am thankful to Prof. Mohd. Parvez, who as an examiner provided me significant response during my pre-submission Ph.D thesis presentation. Words fail to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Fahim Halim Khan for his concern, moral support and encouragement all through my work . I would also thank to my senior Dr. Monika Sharma and the youngest Junior Mehwish Musharraf for their valuable guidance, unremitting encouragement, considerate love and assistance in my Ph.D work ii I must acknowledge the contribution of my colleagues under the same supervision who helped me a lot mentally and academically Farhat Kamal, Rakhi Chaudhary, Farzana Zeeshan, Mohd. Shahnawaz and Masrat Ahmad Mir. Word fails to express my genuine gratitude to my friends who always remain available in anxiety and the constant source of love and joy Shagufta Parveen, Gulshan Zubair, Anam Rais, Sayeema Nizam, Shaista Saife, Renu Tiwari, Posha Parveen Dar, Shakeel Ahmad, and with Samreen Iram, and Syed Sumbul Arif, I accomplished the collection of research material from archive and museums and lastly Safia Shahzad who encouraged and accompanied me for Persian language. Words and lexicons cannot do full justice in expressing deep sense of gratitude and indebtedness which flow from inner core of my heart for my beloved husband Abhay Rajput for his inspiration and meticulous care with moral support at every stage of this work. This cannot be completed without referring the constant support I nurtured by my Mother-in-law Smt. Savitri Devi and Father-in-law Shri Ramesh Singh Rajput. The hilarious moments with sister-in-law Aparna and niece Unnati Rajput gives me strength. Finally, this work is a result of continuous support, guidance, patience and blessings of my family. Words cannot re compensate the cooperation and enlightenment which I have received from my Mom Smt. Satyawati Kulshrestha, PaPa Shri Shyam Baboo Kulshrestha and my all four Brothers and sister-in-laws. They have been remaining a constant source of inspiration throughout the work and played a role of backbone for my every adversity. Their moral support and encouragement cannot be expressed in words. My all nephew and niece their humorous activities and childish behavior make me feel pleasant in the pessimistic and low frequency period. I would like to express sincere gratitude to Library Staff of Rajasthan State Archive, Bikaner, Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum, Albert Museum of Jaipur, Calico Museum Ahmadabad, M.S. University Baroda. All other teachers and non-teaching staff and staff of Seminar Library, Department of History and Maulana Azad Library A.M.U. Aligarh for their promptness in rendering miscellaneous kinds of help I would conclude by expressing my indebtedness to University Grant Commission and Indian Council for Historical Research for the financial support in the form of contingent grant and fellowship is gratefully acknowledged. Swanti Kulshrestha iii THE COSTUMES OF EIGHTEENTH CENTURY AMBER-JAIPUR ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF Doctor of Philosophy In HISTORY SUBMITTED BY SWANTI KULSHRESTHA UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF DR. SUMBUL HALIM KHAN (Associate Professor) DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH- 202002 (INDIA) 2019 Abstract ABSTRACT This topic intends to capture the world of colour, shape, ornament and fabric that belong to Jaipur costumes. The aim is to project what purport costumes fulfil, to what gender it belonged and the manner in which it was adorned. An investigation of costumes unleashes the standard of living of a particular echelon of society. It also reflects the panorama of culture. The usage and production of costume is due mainly to the nature of its economy. The major classic works on textile and costumes come to us in the shape of catalogue. The present thesis aims at co-ordinating these illustrative studies with the rich profusion of archival records housed in Rajasthan State Archive, Bikaner. These documents relate to medieval manufactories which produced textile and costumes such as Rangkhana, Chhapakhana, Ratangrah, Vastragrah and Silehkhana. Other records like Arhsatta, Kapad Dwar and Dastur Komwar supplement with supplying details of cotton production, town planning etc . The marvels of museums also abound. Textile was a thriving industry of Mughal India. History of textile gradually developed from lucid techniques of spinning, weaving, dying towards more complex processes of embellishment. The later multiplied with the course of time Textile and costume received desired patronage during Sultanate and Mughal Period. In the context of Jaipur, the foundation of Jaipur city lent a fillip to the demand of luxurious urban products, in general, and textile in particular. The process culminated in vibrant products of not only Jaipur but also Bagru and Sanganer textiles. The rich profusion of information pertaining to textile and the finished products of costumes has made us explore nature of fabric, their colouring, printing and decoration, designing of costumes as also organisation of the various artisans involved. We can broadly understand the varieties of textures of the fabrics, their composition, nomenclature of fabrics and costumes, which were used by Rajas ,and elite class of Amber in eighteenth century ,with the help of karkhanazat paper. We can also compare it with the wardrobe section of Ain-i-Akbari in order to understand resemblances and variations between the types of fabric used by the Amber Raja and the Mughals. 1 Abstract The nature of fabric can be classified into cotton, silk, mixed fabric like brocade Mashru and Sattinete, woollen and velvet. Due to the climatic condition of the area the cotton textile was most acceptable and favourable fabric. It was not costly hence easy to afford and easy to use and had wide variety in clothes too. This is also evident by available varieties of cotton fabric mentioned in our karkhanazat documents. The cotton industry contributed a lot to the enhancement of the economy of Mughal Empire. Similarly, it also contributed a lot in the economy of Jaipur state. The fabrics which were widely used in warm climate of Jaipur were cotton like alam, adhotra, khasa, mahmudi, panchtolna, sahan, srisaf and salu were main fabric used in Jaipur household. Its versatile collection indicates that it was popular too. The various graphics, from related catalogue, clearly facilitates our knowledge about the varieties of texture prevalent in our region. The cotton fabric was mostly beautified at Jaipur or Sanganer. It had wide varieties recorded, but the silk texture was mentioned in much larger quantity. The most popularly used variety was of mixed fabric. Most of the preserved fabrics of silk and mixed are from the area of Gujarat, some varieties are from the region of Bengal and Banaras etc. Colouring was carried with immense expertise from vegetable extracts, and, mineral source. The natural herbs recorded in the Rangkhana document are gulal (red powder), kesar (saffron), kusum (safflower), phitkari (alum), saji (vegetable), haldi (turmeric), pevrhi