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India, Ahmedabad, Calico Museum of Textiles
The Calico Museum of Textiles celebrates India’s extraordinary heritage of fibre, cloth and design, housing one of the world’s most important and comprehensive collections of Indian textiles. Founded in 1949 by Gautam and Gira Sarabhai under the Sarabhai Foundation, the museum’s galleries present historic court textiles, regional embroideries, tie‑dye and block‑printed fabrics, ceremonial cloths and garments from the 15th century onwards, alongside works that reflect India’s rich cultural, spiritual and artisanal traditions. Its displays—set within the elegant Retreat complex in Ahmedabad—also encompass bronzes, Jain art and miniature paintings, enriching the story of textile craft, technique and aesthetic across centuries.
Address: The Retreat, Opposite The Underbridge, Shahibaug, Ahmedabad 380004, Gujarat, India
Phone: +91 79 22868172 / +91 79 22865995
Email: info@calicomuseum.org
Website: www.calicomuseum.org
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Lisa Lloyd The museum has a superlative collection of Indian textiles which is very well curated and displayed. However, it is only available by conducted tour which has to be booked in advance. There are two sessions covering both galleries, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, and I booked both. I cannot fault the collection, however the person doing to tour itself was very disappointing. They picked one piece in each gallery on which to speak and spent some time offering their opinion on the subject matter and what it meant to them in a very theatrical manner. Rarely was any mention made on technique, origin or even age. After they finished speaking you were then given a cursory minute or two to look at other pieces in the gallery before being ushered along to the next one. Anyone without a good understanding of Indian textiles would have struggled. The collection also includes some world class Chola bronzes, again only one 9th century example was singled about and a factually incorrect description of the lost wax process was given, and no time allowed to look at the other bronzes. The same applied to the Tibetan Thangkas.
Overall it's a fabulous, world class, museum but the owners should start charging an admission fee (it's currently free) and pay someone with better expertise to conduct the tours.
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