SHAWLS
Famous Types: Wool, Pashmina And Shatoosh
Kashmiri shawls are noted for the extreme fineness of the
cream coloured goats wool known as Pashmina and for the intricate
embroidery work. Pashmina is unmistakable for its softness. Pashmina yarn
is spun from the hair of the ibex found at 14,000 ft above the sea level,
although pure Pashmina is expensive, the cost is sometimes brought down by
blending it with Rabbit fur or with wool.
History Of Shawl Making
Shawl making has been a Kashmiri specialty for over 500 years. The word
shawl was not used until 1533 when Nagz Beg of Khokand in central Asia
came to Kashmir with his master, Mirza Haider Dughlat. Nagz Beg presented
his master with a piece of Pashmina, and he asked Beg what it was. Beg
replied a shawl, the name used by the people of Khokand for a blanket
since then this type of weaving has been termed a shawl. The embroidered
shawl or Amilkar was started by an artisan, Ala Baba, who covered up some
footprints made by a fowl on his white material with coloured thread.
In 1796 a blind man, Sayyid Yehyah, from Baghdad, visited Kashmir and
received a shawl from the Afghan governor. Sayyid presented it to the
Khedive of Egypt, who in turn presented it to Napoleon. In France it
caught the eye of the French court, which through history had set the
fashion in Europe.
The subsequent demand was enormous, and in those days the shawls sold for
amounts varying from Rs. 60 to Rs. 7,000. More than 40,000 looms worked
day and night in the vale to satisfy the unprecedented demand from Europe.
In 1820, the English explorer Moorcroft learnt the art and sent
instructions to England. The English weave shawls are not equal to the
originals from Kashmir.
Types Of Shawls
There are three fibers from which the Kashmiri shawls are made- wool,
Pashmina and Shahtoosh. The prices of three cannot be compared - woolen
shawls being within the reach of the most modest budget, and Shahtoosh
being an once-in-a-lifetime purchase.
The
Exquisite Embroidery
Woolen shawls are popular because of the embroidery worked on them, which
is a special to Kashmir. Both embroidery and the type of wool used causes
differences in price. Wool woven in Kashmir is 'Raffel' and is 100% pure.
Many kinds of embroidery are worked on shawls - 'Sozni' or needlework is
generally done in a panel along the sides of the shawl. Motifs, usually
abstract designs or stylized paisleys and flowers are worked in one or
two, occasionally three colors, all subdued.
A unique type of needle embroidery is popularly known as Papier Mache`
work because of the design and the style in which it is executed. This is
done either in broad panels or either side of the breadth of a shawl, or
covering the entire surface of a stole. Another type of embroidery is
'Ari' or hook embroidery; motifs are well-known flower design finely
worked in concentric rings of chain stitch.
Shatoosh - The Ring Shawl
Shahtoosh, the legendary 'ring shawl' is incredible for its lightness,
softness and warmth. The astronomical price it commands in the market is
due to the scarcity of raw material. High in the plateau of Tibet and the
eastern part of Ladakh, at an altitude of above 5,000 meters, roam
Pantholops Hodgosoni or Tibetan Antelope. During grazing, a few strands of
the downy hair from the throat are shed and it is these, which are
painstakingly collected until there are enough for a shawl.
Yarn is spun either from Shahtoosh alone, or with Pashmina, bringing down
the cost somewhat. In the case of pure Shahtoosh too, there are many
qualities - the yarn can be spun so skillfully as to resemble a strand of
silk. Not only are shawls made from such fine yarn extremely expensive,
they can only be loosely woven and are too flimsy for embroidery to be
done on them. Unlike woolen or Pashmina shawls, Shahtoosh is seldom dyed.
Its natural color is mousy brown, and it is, at the most, sparsely
embroidered.
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