Patan Patola Heritage Museum

Brief History

Run by the multiple-award-winning Salvi family, this purpose-built museum is an excellent place to see Patola silk weaving in action. The family has specialised in double-ikat weaving (a process that their ancestors brought from Southeast Asia) since the 11th century. You can observe a demonstration on the loom and compare the family’s craft with beautifully displayed single-ikat textiles from around the world, from Uzbekistan and northern Thailand to Holland.

The art of double ikat goes back centuries and is also seen in some of the cave paintings in Ajanta. Legends say that it was in 12 century AD that King Kumarpal of the Solanki dynasty, invited 700 families of patola weavers from Jalna (South Maharashtra) to settle down in Patan in North Gujarat. The Salvi family is one of them. They have continued to preserve this art for the last 35 generations.