Monthly Archives: September 2012

Spotlight: Central Asia – Arastan returns to Mumbai

By Abhisek | Published: 14 September 2012
Tibetan Carpet

After the great welcome we received in Mumbai earlier this year, we are back with a new treasure chest of handpicked décor items from Central Asia. We will be exhibiting at ARTISANS’, Kala Ghoda from 20th to 22nd September between 11 am and 7 pm. Highlights include vintage carpets from East Turkestan (now the Xinjiang Uyghur Region of China) and Tibet, thangkas and jewellery from Nepal, miniatures and ikat from Uzbekistan and limited edition furniture incorporating striking Central Asian fabrics created especially for us by designer Pragati Toshniwal.

Rugs from the oasis city of Khotan (now Hotan) are particular favourites of Nishas. Khotan lies on a branch of the Silk Route that headed south from Kashgar to skirt the Taklamakan Desert. This remote region of western China, ringed by mountains and desert, vaunts a millennial tradition of tribal carpet weaving. Wool-on-cotton Khotan rugs are characterised by a blend of Persian and Chinese motifs, a testament to …

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Pragati for Arastan

By Nisha | Published: 4 September 2012
Pragati for Arastan

OMG Pragati! My reaction at seeing the first few pieces of the collection she has done for us. Of course I want to keep several but have to behave myself! Here is a bit about this lovely lady and the amazing collection she has created for us.

Pragati (Toshniwal ne Mathur) hails from Bundi in Rajasthan. She studied Textile Technology and Art from Sophia in Bombay and started weaving after graduating. One loom became ten over the years and she became  known for her sarees and upholstery. She says she always knew she wanted to be an artist and an archaeologist. Her inspiration coming from traditional architecture, textile and  jewellery, all available in plentiful in the havelis she grew up in Rajasthan. Her strength is clearly in using contemporary ways of using hand worked textile.

The limited edition items she has designed for Arastan are functional while retaining their origin …

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Exhibition of Karimnagar Silver Filigree

By Abhisek | Published: 1 September 2012
Karimnagar Silver Filigree

We are excited to host an exhibition of rare and exquisite Karimnagar silver filigree works from 6th September 2012 to 8th September 2012 between 10.30 am-6.30 pm. The exhibition also features a talk by Deepti Sudhindra (owner of The Jewelry Project) at 12 pm on 6th September. Deepti has a passion for reviving old metalsmithing techniques and using them to create exquisite filigree jewellery, which led us to work together with her on this event.

Filigree work owes its origins to the ancient Greeks, which has been a major influencing factor distinctly visible in Indian silver filigree items. Silver filigree typically constitutes thin strips of fine silver coiled into looped and zigzagged patterns, used to fill up the base designs formed out of thicker silver pieces. To achieve the required thickness (thinness in this case), pure silver is repeatedly passed through a wire drawing machine with a series of holes of …

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  • Welcome to Arastan

    Arastan was an online store that curated rare and handpicked treasures from exotic bazaars along the ancient silk route. Unfortunately we ceased trading in early 2014.

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