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    ARTICLE

    Rosemary Crill

    Map Academy

    Articles are written collaboratively by the EIA editors. More information on our team, their individual bios, and our approach to writing can be found on our About pages. We also welcome feedback and all articles include a bibliography (see below).

    A British researcher and scholar specialising in Indian textiles and paintings, Rosemary Crill is former Senior Curator of the South and Southeast Asian department at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), London. Her areas of expertise include chintz, Rajasthani painting and the history of the Indian textile trade.

    Crill studied Turkish art and architecture at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London, and began working in the South and Southeast Asian department of V&A in 1978. Basing her research on the museum’s vast textile collection, she studied the styles and techniques of traditional textiles in India and published several books, including Indian Ikat Textiles (1998), Indian Embroidery (1999) and Chintz: Indian Textiles for the West (2008). Crill also co-authored Trade, Temple and Court: Indian Textiles from the TAPI Collection (2002), with scholars Ruth Barnes and Steven Cohen.

    In 2015, she co-curated Fabric of India with Divia Patel at V&A, which presented a history of Indian textiles over two thousand years and included pieces from the museum’s collection that had previously never been displayed, along with creations by contemporary Indian designers.

    Crill has also conducted extensive research on Rajasthani paintings. In 1985, she travelled to Jodhpur to help the Mehrangarh Museum Trust organise its collection of paintings. Her work from this period became the basis for her book Marwar Painting: A History of the Jodhpur Style (1999). In 2010, she co-curated an exhibition titled The Indian Portrait 1560–1860 with Kapil Jariwala, which opened at the National Portrait Gallery, London, and featured portraits from different eras and schools of Indian painting.

    At the time of writing, Crill lives and works in the United Kingdom.

     
    Bibliography

    Morris, Roderick Conway. “India’s Rich Tapestry.” New York Times, October 13, 2015. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/14/arts/international/indias-rich-tapestry.html.

    National Portrait Gallery. “The Indian Portrait 1560-1860.” Accessed September 7, 2021. https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/2010/the-indian-portrait-1560-1860/.

    Ranvir. “Magic Through Miniature.” The Hindu, July 26, 2010. https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/art/Magic-through-miniature/article16210899.ece.

    Rathi, Nidhi Taparia. “’Most Books on Indian Textiles are Like Replicas, Without Any New Information or Pictures.'” India Today, March 17, 2003. https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-the-arts/story/20030317-rosemary-crill-steven-cohen-ruth-barnes-on-indian-textiles-793164-2003-03-17.

    Roy, Amit. “Author Rosemary Crill Talks About her Book Marwar Painting: A History of the Jodhpur Style.” India Today, March 13, 2000. https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-the-arts/books/story/20000313-author-rosemary-crill-talks-about-her-book-marwar-painting-a-history-of-the-jodhpur-style-777202-2000-03-13.

    Steppes Travel. “An Adventurer’s Insight – Q & A with Rosemary Crill.” Accessed September 6, 2021. https://www.steppestravel.com/blog/an-adventurers-insight-q-a-with-rosemary-crill/

    Victoria and Albert Museum. “Rosemary Crill Biography.” Accessed September 6, 2021. http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/r/rosemary-crill-biography/.

    Victoria and Albert Museum. “South & South-East Asia Collections: Staff and Areas of Expertise.” Accessed September 7, 2021. http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/s/south-and-south-east-asia-staff-and-areas-of-expertise/.

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