What is chintz?

Many objects in European museums are catalogued as 'chintz', representing the material memories of global connections.

The word chintz originates from a plural version of the Hindi word for 'bright'. It originally indicated a woodblock printed, painted or stained cotton / calico produced in India from 1600 to 1800, splendidly decorated with floral patterns. The textile arrived in Europe during the 17th and 18th century on the ships of the East India Companies, all the way from the Coromandel coast in South-East India.

Initially these fabrics were used for curtains, furnishing fabrics, and bed hangings and covers. It has been suggested that they began to be worn as clothes began when these were replaced and given to maids and servants, who made them into dresses, and also that they were first worn as linings.

The Dutch East India Company was the main importer of chintz fabrics to Europe during the 17th and 18th century. During this period in the Netherlands, the sale of both original chintz and reproductions flourished, as they were not banned by the Dutch government. Over the years chintz was used both for fashionable and for regional dress. The country catered to its neighbours, to which the Dutch merchandise and the Indian originals were smuggled.

By 1680, chintz had become massively popular. So much so that chintz started being considered a threat for national textile industries.

French and English citizens were prohibited to either produce, import or even wear it for over 70 years, respectively from 1686, when France declared a ban on all chintz imports, and in 1721, when the Parliament of Great Britain forbade 'the Use and Warings in Apparel of imported chintz, and also its use or Wear in or about any Bed, Chair, Cushion or other Household furniture'. Spain was the third country to ban imports from India and also European imitations in 1728.

Dutch entrepreneurs went to lengths to try and reproduce Indian chintz. In India, most of the designs were painted by hand. Printing reproductions in the Low Countries remained time-consuming.

It was indeed a long process: it would take months to make the natural dyes, clean the fabric (beating it with wooden bats), preparing it with a tannin solution (retrieved from plants), submerging it in various baths, rinsing and drying.

Colour dying always happened in the same order: black, red, blue, purple, yellow and green. Some of the colours appeared only when the fabric, hand painted or printed with a type of mordant, was plunged in a dye bath afterwards. Others could be applied to the fabric directly. The bleaching of the white background, which needed to be repeated several times, required a good amount of sun and goat or cow dung. Finishing happened with rice water, in order to make it sturdy; the shiny look was obtained by calendering or by waxing and polishing with a shell.

The popularity of these textiles is documented by the many holdings that European museums have of chintz. They are all fascinating objects that tell stories of desire, imitation, craftsmanship and technology.