This is a hand woven silk saree with a rich, ornamental Zari Pallovand border, which is characterised by borders of an oblique square design, and a Pallov with a peacock design. The Paithani saree is known all over the world over for its uniqueness.
The name “Paithani” is derived from the small town Paithan located in Maharashtra about 400 km north east of Bombay. This place is one of the Deccan’s oldest towns. The Paithani Sarees & Fabrics is socio-culturally associated with the people of Maharashtra due to its confluence with the culture of the people. The Paithani saree is traditionally a part of the trousseau of every Maharashtrian bride.
Historically The art of Paithan is more than 2000 years old, developed in the the city of Pratishthan ruled by the legendary Satavahanas ruler Shalivahana now Paithan by the river Godavari in Marathwada, about 50 km from Aurangabad. In the far past it had been an international trade centre for silk and zari.
The Peshwas had a special love for Paithani textiles. During the 17th century, the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb patronized the Paithani Silk weavers and introduced new motif that was called Aurangzebi. He prohibited weavers to weave ‘Jamdanis’ except for his court and punished the weavers who disobeyed his orders.
Later during the 19-20th centuries, the Nizam of Hyderabad ordered large quantities of Paithani silks. Paithani possibly survived because of the patronage of the household of the Nizam of Hyderabad. Begum Niloufer, from Nizam family, is attributed for her contribution of the motif Parinda (Pheasant bird).
Human expertise may have been replaced by modern machines. However, no machine-made fabric can be compared with the hand-made paithani sarees by the master craftsmen of Maharashtra.
The decline in the production of Paithani began with the industrial revolution, when the mills introduced cheap fabric into the traditional market. The number of looms in Paithan gradually reduced to very few.
Initially weaving activities were limited to Paithan town till 17th century. Later weaving activities were transferred to Yeola (a village in Nashik district), with the help of local wealthy people. The sale of Paithani saree picked up from 1984-85 and Yeola village became the main commercial centre of Paithani weaving.
The weavers of Paithani Saree & Fabrics are mainly in Paithan and Yeola in District of Maharashtra, India.
