History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c20.9

v1.c20.9

In India, the art of using dyes to ornament fabrics has an ancient origin. The discovery of a fragment or maddar-dyed fabric at Mohenjo-daro sticking to a silver vase leads us to believe that Indus Valley people were acquainted with the technique of dyeing cotton with red colouring matter of the maddar root and that mordant process of dyeing cloth was known in India 5,000 years ago (Indian Printed Textiles, 1950). During this period spinning of cotton and wool seems to have been very popular among all classes of people for the whorls made of cheap as well as costly materials have been found. From the drawings of figures of men and women on the walls of these ancient sites, it becomes evident that Indus valley people donned themselves in clothes with different designs and that they were acquainted with the art of dyeing cotton with the red colouring matter of the maddar root after using some mordant. Since many dyeing vats are also found, it is proved that dyeing of fabrics was practised on large scales as a profession.