Book reveals how Chintz—India’s precious textile pattern—became a precolonial global export

Cyrus Naji | The Art Newspaper | 27th May 2026

Distained for being fuddy duddy, chintz is having an “intellectual” revival. It was traded in Asia for centuries before appearing in Europe around 1600 where it proved wildly popular. Rather than heavy woollen and stiff linen garments, consumers could now get lightweight, colourful, washable cotton. Trade and colonialism led to a sophisticated amalgam of Western symmetry and sinuous Persian and Indian designs. Although its back story is little understood, chintz has had an impact “on global art and design history”.