Kashmiri Shawls –a Prized Possession

By Rumana Husain

The intricate paisley designs of the soft Pashmina shawl, with its silky woven threads, is a prized possession to behold. An excellent souvenir to take home, a gift from the Kashmir valleys of Pakistan.

The Historic Relevance

Woven from the hair of pashmina goats that thrive on the high plains, located near the Himalayan range, luxuriously soft Kashmir shawls have been worn since antiquity.

The name Pashmina has been derived from a Persian word “Pashm” meaning something that can be weaved. Traditional producers of Pashmina wool in the Ladak region of the Himalayas were known as the Changpa. These were nomadic people and inhabited the Changthang plateau of Tibet. The raw material of the Kashmir shawl, known in the West as “cashmere,” the history of which dates back to early 1820s.

Most of the Kashmir shawls now in museums or private collections date to between the 17th and 19th centuries.

The Beauty

Hand-woven, the delicate fabric of Pashmina has a deep cultural significance and this is the tradition incorporated each time you wear a Pashmina shawl. Pashmina is derived from mountain breeds of goat and made from finer and thinner fibres and is therefore lightweight.

Designs

Although the designs woven and embroidered on Pashmina shawls have varied over time reflecting the tastes of the customers, the basic motifs used by the shawl designers or naqash have remained the same. Two reoccurring motifs used are the cone shaped cypress tree or pine motif, thought to have been imported from Persia. Floral patterns are an enduring motif and were particularly popular in the 17th century, when the Mughal emperors favoured flower designs in their textiles, architecture and works of art. in the high-altitude plains of Tibet, Nepal and Ladakh. This highly sought-after wool was imported into Kashmir, separated by colour, spun into yarn and woven on a loom.

The transformation of the raw pashm, a mass of greasy fibers, into a fabric renowned for its fineness involved a series of processes. The shawl entrepreneur supplied the pashm in its raw state to women who, in the seclusion of their homes, undertook the painstaking and laborious task of removing the coarse outer hairs from the fleece; they then cleaned it with rice-flour paste, and spun it on wheels similar to those used everywhere in India. The skill of spinning such delicate fiber was passed down over generations from mother to daughter

Tapestry weaving is a highly laborious and time-consuming technique, and by the middle of the nineteenth century, as the designs became ever more elaborate, particularly fine shawls took months and even years to complete.

Before the 17th century the pashmina wool was not dyed, and so Kashmir shawls were white, brown, grey or black. Later, it became more fashionable to colour the wool with natural dyes of dark blue, red and saffron yellow.

A Take Home Gift

Kashmir shawls are highly prized for their fine wool, skilled weaving and embroidery, and soft texture. Antique shawls

These motifs evolve into different forms. The textile artisans in Kashmir refer to the buta motif designs with different names. Variations of designs from subtle tones used only on the lengthwise border, hashias and ends, pallas of the shawls with plain centers are juxtaposed with brightly coloured more modern designs with large abstracted buta.

The Making

Until the 19th century, all Kashmir shawls were made by hand. It took between six months and a year to make one shawl. These antique shawls were made from pashmina wool, taken from the underhair of pashmina goats living are considered an item of luxury, often worn by royalty or nobility and passed down through generations.

The value of a handcrafted Pashmina shawl as a luxury accessory as well as its adaptability to shifting fashion trends by the shawl artisans and designers enables this traditional industry to survive.

Buying Guide

Pashmina is sometimes blended with other fibers, notably cotton and sheep wool, for one of two reasons. First, it makes it cheaper. Second, the stronger material can safely be embroidered, while pure pashmina is more likely to be damaged in the process.

There are a number of tests that we can conduct over a Pashmina shawl to test its authenticity. The burn has always been the first and primary test to prove the purity of Pashmina. Pick a piece from the fringes, place it on a plate, and burn it. If the cut fringe gives out the odour of a natural hair fibre upon burning, there are higher chances of the shawl being a real Pashmina.

Even though sellers sell their Pashmina, fake or real, at the same prices, but real Pashmina is indeed a little expensive than its cheaper copies. The price however depends on a number of factors like ply, count, and weaving design. The cost of a Pashmina shawl varies between Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000.