"Indiennes" are printed and painted cotton fabrics that originally came from India. However, they were also produced in Switzerland from the 17th century. A real boom developed. The exhibition "Indiennes. Fabric for a Thousand Stories" at the Landesmuseum Zurich is devoted to the history of this popular trade item.
The exhibition provides an insight into the historical relations between Switzerland and India. These were also shaped by the Basel Mission, which worked in southern India from 1834. The Basel missionaries are also part of the history of the "Indiennes". They opened printing presses and weaving mills in India to finance their activities.
Mission 21's extensive archives map this diverse network of relationships between the Basel Mission and India and the world. It contains letters, photographs, audio sources, objects and historical maps. For the exhibition in Zurich, Mission 21 provided, among other sources, historical fabric and print samples from the Basel Mission's weaving mill in Calicut, India at that time.
The beautiful fabrics and high-caliber loans can be admired at the Landesmuseum Zurich until January 19, 2020.
In the artfully designed book accompanying the exhibition, an entire chapter is devoted to the Basel Mission in India.
â–º Website of the exhibition "Indienne. Stuff for a Thousand Stories"
