ABSTRACT
The Indian influence on design has a long history, especially in relation to textiles. John Forbes Watson, (1827–1892), was a physician and writer on India. In 1866, Watson produced The Textile Manufactures of India, with the intention of introducing and educating British textile designers and manufacturers to the products of India and surrounding countries. John Ruskin argued that for him the principles of Indian design work were 'wilfully sealed up'. It is not a little instructive as well as curious to note the change which the last few years have wrought in the national estimate of Indian art. Though private art authorities have done much to promote the appreciation of Indian ornament, it seems to have been reserved for the Government to turn that appreciation to practical account, and facilitate the application of Indian principles of design to English manufacturing art.
