‘The European manufacturer who may have attempted the introduction of metal into his fabrics, will all the more readily comprehend and admire the results obtained by the Indian weaver.’ With these words, John Forbes Watson, the author of a classic catalogue of Indian fabrics, began the section on a uniquely Indian and singularly complex class of textiles, ‘loom-embroidery’ with gold and silver. Forbes Watson was familiarizing his intended readers, British cloth-makers, with Indian tastes, and declared that this class of cloths ‘is destined yet to occupy a somewhat important place amongst the list of manufactured articles exported from India to this and other European countries’. He was primarily interested in trade and comparative advantages, and omitted the importance ‘loom-embroidery’ in metals had in the domestic market. In fact, this continued to be one preserve of handloom weaving which the powerloom did not touch at all.

Forbes Watson was aware that the accumulated skills in the manufacture of the metal thread itself contributed to this advantage. Jari, or twisted silver thread with a golden shine, was a widely used material on the borders or surface of decorated cloths. It was woven on cotton or silk, or embroidered by hand. No other major industry was so closely associated with silk and, occasionally, with cotton weaving. At the same time, none of the textile-related occupations specialized into an independent craft to the same extent.