Abstract This article examines The Fabric of India Exhibition which took place at The Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A), London, from 3 October 2015 to 10 January 2016. The exhibition explored the expansive global history of Indian handmade textiles with a lavish display of splendid and decorative objects. The fulcrum of the exhibition was the complex story of the struggle for Indian Independence and the role of fabric within that, told through a few simple utilitarian objects. Two-thirds of the objects on display were selected from the V&A’s colonial-era collection. This article argues that it is possible to integrate uncomfortable histories into a grand and otherwise celebratory narrative to convey a strong political and emotional sub-narrative, and that key to this is an understanding of the collecting history of the objects. Furthermore, it contends that this colonial-era collection can be revitalised to bring the Indian voice onto the exhibition platform.

中文翻译：

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'由英文线制成'

摘要 本文考察了于 2015 年 10 月 3 日至 2016 年 1 月 10 日在伦敦维多利亚和阿尔伯特博物馆 (V&A) 举办的印度面料展。该展览通过华丽的展示，探索了印度手工纺织品的广阔全球历史。和装饰物。展览的支点是印度独立斗争的复杂故事以及织物在其中的作用，通过一些简单的实用物品来讲述。展出的三分之二的物品选自 V&A 的殖民时代收藏。本文认为，可以将令人不快的历史融入宏大的、以其他方式庆祝的叙事中，以传达强烈的政治和情感子叙事，而关键在于对物品的收藏历史的理解。