Abstract:

This study is a historical review of Mughal tradition of textile tents which have long been used in the Mughal dynasty from Bābar to Aurangzīb. It further delineates Mughal art of the tent, camp, pavilion, from moving idiom to a luxurious life, however, they have been neglected as an art form in the subcontinent particularly in Pakistan. In their historical context, they served as a mobile court as well as for metropolitan affairs and wars and have left impacts on the tentage culture of many countries. This study argues that the tents and textiles serve as a type of conspicuous show created by skilled people who exercise creativity by adapting accepted design conventions to ritual and social roles. Through written records and the contents analysis of visuals, this paper maintains that Mughal tent techniques have been replaced with contemporary factory printed fabric bearing patterns from the traditional heritage of later half of the 20th century. It is maintained in the study that the Mughal Dynasty's luxuriously decorated cloth tent drapes that are conventionally made with textile techniques such as appliqué, brocade, silk and velvet have influenced our modern art and design. This paper further identifies the evolution of the historical textile tent basics that have helped form the modern use of tents and the influence of Mughal in detail, which are mainly rich in textile materials and methods. This study is an effort to provide a documentation for the examination of the textile content, textile structure and textile architecture of the Mughal Textile tent.

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