This textile is a very sophisticated example of tie-dying. It is known as bandhani – which comes from the Sanskrit word bandh to bind. Tiny sections of fabric are tightly bound with thread and dip-dyed in stages to create colourful, dotty patterns.

This textile is one of 800 samples from The Textile Manufactures of India – an 18 volume set of books put together in 1866 by John Forbes Watson. Today this collection is admired as a wonderful compendium of South Asian textile heritage. But Forbes Watson’s original aim was more strategic: to show British textile manufacturers the types of fabrics used in South Asia so that UK businesses could sell mass-produced copies to this huge potential market. You can find out more about this story and see all 800 textiles at www.tmoi.org.uk.