Shawls of the East

Shawls of the East from Kerman to Kashmir

Parviz Nemati

Auth o r ’s N o t e

Treasure Chest

C

The treasures of the past can often link us to spiritual antiquity, and we long to preserve them for centuries to come.

ertain events in life are not only unforgettable but can also alter your life in the most profound ways. One such event occurred when I was a boy of fourteen living in an upper-middle-class family in Kerman, an ancient city in Iran known throughout the world for its silk and wool carpets, shawls and textiles. This momentous event opened my eyes both to the treasures of the past and the limitless possibilities of the future, at the same time turning my thoughts to the West. Little did I suspect, as events unfolded, that they would help determine the course of my life.

Our family of three generations lived in a large, old house on the main street of Kerman. My grandfather owned fruit orchards and carpet-weaving workshops in the surrounding villages. My grandfather was known by everybody in town as Madjdol Olema, a term of honor that was reserved for a learned person, a title that inspired both respect and fear. My father was known as Mirza Mehdi Khan Nemati—“Mirza” denoting his status as a literate person and “Khan” being a title of rank. My mother was known as Khanum Mudeer, the headmistress of the school, which was just down the street.

It was September, and school had already started, but everybody in the family was busy with a flurry of extraordinary preparations. The whole household was humming with the activities of extra helpers, working at a multitude of diverse tasks — carpenters making new furniture and varnishing old, house painters and contractors. Antique opaline lamps of milk glass were being brought out from storage rooms and beautiful handmade Patteh [Kerman shawls] were placed on sofas, hung from the walls, and spread as tablecloths.

I suspected that the house was being prepared for a major event. I soon found out that my grandfather was returning shortly from Europe, bringing home several foreign guests with him. Because my father thought that my English was better than my elder brother’s, he asked if I could work with my English teacher on a daily basis so I could converse with the foreign guests.

K erman 5 detail , ( opposite ), see page 120.

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C ummerbund , ( right ): Kashmir. 19th century.

1ft x 9ft (0.30 x 2.74m) Joined cummerbund of fine jamawar shawl cloth. Woven in twill tapestry weave with pairs of inclining botehs against a sub pattern of stylized flowers, within a latter border of termeh cloth band, late 19th century– Kerman or Yazd.

The distinctive stylized carnation in the belly of the larger boteh bears a close resemblance to the motifs of 17th century Ottoman velvets. Therefore, it might be deduced that the original shawl was made for the Turkish market thereby, rendering the present piece a “shal-e-rumi.”

The past two shades of the piece—the light green and the pinks–indicate a more festive shawl than similar courtier and formal weave.

The back is reinforced with bands of red wool, of the distinctive Kerman red, where it must have spent a good part of its recent history.

S quare S hawl 43, ( opposite ): Urban piece–Chamba Rumal– Himashal Pradesh of India, the foothills of Himalaya. Second half of 19th century.

5.3ft x 5.3ft (1.60 x 1.60m) Polychrome floss silk embroidered on black cotton with added silk fringes. Similar symbols can be seen in earlier Kashmir examples, circa 1855.* Presumably used as ceremonial tray cover. *See Crill, Rosemary.

Indian Embroidery, V&A Publications, London, 1999

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I went straight to my grandmother, who was my confident - I trusted her completely. I confided to her the reasons for my excitement and my fears about acting as a host and interpreter. I asked her, “And what would they be interested in?” “What interests them is shalbafi [shawl weaving] and ghalibafi [rug weaving].” The next day, when I returned from school, my grandmother was waiting for me with tea and sweet pastries. She said, “Let me show you something,” motioning to me to follow her. We went to a room called Sandoogh Khoneh [treasure room], a small room containing several capacious trunks, elaborately decorated with silks and velvets and protected by huge locks. She proceeded to open one of these trunks and began taking out one sumptuous woven treasure after another, showing me each one while keeping up a running descriptive monologue. “This one’s from Nader Shah’s time. And see this one? It’s probably the Nasseraldinshah period [1847-1897]. And here’s the pat-

Tr e a s u r e C h e s t tern that was most popular during the reign of Fath Ali Shah [1797-1834].” By now, she was transported into another world, aglow with the nostalgia of the memories she treasured. I was awestruck at the beauty of these ancient objects.

She told me, “They’re very valuable as family treasures, but they also possess historical importance. When I take you to the shawl-weaving workshop tomorrow, you’ll realize that these kinds of things cannot be made anymore.”

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K erman 4, ( above ): Needle- The next day we went to the house of Hadji Mozafar. It was the first time embroidered weaving that was once I had ever seen a workshop of this kind. Several young girls were doing the used most probably as a prayer mat. weaving, supervised by a few older women who kept them supplied with the right kinds of threads and yarns. Outside the large hall were roofed galleries, where the hanks of wool, freshly dyed every possible color, were hung to dry.

As we were leaving, Hadji brought out a finished square shawl and proudly announced that he and his wife, with the collaboration of many of these artisans, had just completed work on the piece. “Of course, it cannot hold a candle to the masterpieces owned by Your Ladyship, but we’d like you to have it. I will have this delivered to you today.” We thanked him and left. I desired to learn as much about the art of shawl weaving as I could.

Shortly before the foreign guests were due to arrive with my grandfather, I was passing in front of the Sandoogh Khoneh and saw my grandmother seated on the floor, surrounded by all those textiles, carefully picking them up one by one to touch and study them, then folding each one neatly and putting it away before going on to the next one. She noticed I was watching and said, “Would you like to see the difference between the proud workmanship of past centuries and the quality of work that’s done by the artisans today? Look, look at this one.

This was my Khalaati, a precious garment given to rulers and members of the nobility from Mirza Mahomood Khan, your great-grandfather, and this is what he brought me when he came to ask my hand in marriage to your grandfather.”

The way her fingers lovingly lingered over the treasured fabric made it obvious

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Tr e a s u r e C h e s t that she was transported into a different world of a different time. Then she said to me, “Even though you’re still very young, I hope you’ll always keep these treasures safe. Maybe you’ll end up going abroad, to Faranghi lands, where I’m told they keep these things in museums.” That statement somehow struck a deep chord in me, for all at once I saw with a new intensity the mesmerizing brilliance of these magnificent weavings, their glowing hues of red, yellow and green, blue and gold. The subdued sparkle of old gold and silver trimming completed the impression of beauty and opulence that would stay with me for a lifetime. I felt a sense of duty arising out of the tremendous respect and love I felt for her and I said “Grandma, I promise you I’ll take care of your treasures.”

When the foreigners finally arrived, the party consisted of about twenty people, including four Englishmen, two Indians and one Turk, and in addition, several local dignitaries. One of the guests was dressed in a long, body-hugging coat, with a beautiful Kamarbandi shawl as a sash wrapped around his waist.

(The English word “cummerbund” is derived from this Farsi term.) This was the first time I had seen how men used these garments. Another gentleman had a turban around his head and was also wearing a decorative shawl. I was to witness a dazzling array of people decked out in fanciful outfits that occasionally bordered on the outlandish.

One of the guests was Sahib Gul, an Indian who spoke Farsi well. After a lengthy conversation, I revealed my ambition to help my grandmother

B elow : Official gathering in my father’s house (the first person sitting from the right).

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Tr e a s u r e C h e s t preserve her collection. “If you trust me, persuade your grandmother to let me take a look at her collection, after which I’ll be able to give you my honest opinion, or at least an educated guess, of the value of what she has. Then you can decide,” he said.

The next day I arranged with my grandmother to let him see her collection. Sahib Gul was pleasantly surprised and thanked me and my grandmother for allowing him to see the old textiles. When Sahib Gul and I were able to continue our conversation afterward, I mentioned wanting to go to Europe after finishing high school and solicited his advice. In particular, I wanted his guidance about how to proceed, in case my grandmother gave me some of the shawls to help pay my expenses in Europe. He replied emphatically that I should not take them, absolutely not. “As a matter of fact, you should only pass through Europe and go on to America,” he said. “But the reality may not be so easy, so the sooner you prepare for it, the better. If you decide to go abroad, prepare yourself for any number of surprises. First of all, not only will

Long Shawl 7, (opposite), see page 152.

S quare S hawl 44, ( below ), see page 25.

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you have to do without servants, but at first you’ll be obliged to work at menial tasks. So I suggest that you seek work and cover your expenses that way, instead of selling your grandmother’s heirloom shawls. The reason I’m telling you to go to America instead of Europe is that it is a younger nation with tremendous natural resources, always in need of decent, hard-working people.

My younger brother is there, and he’s very successful.”

For the next year and a half we kept up a correspondence. I was also in touch with a school friend of mine, who was sent to Vienna to study and was constantly asking me to join him there.

Their encouragement helped me to decide to leave the comfort of my parent’s home and move to Teheran. While my parents did not approve of this move, my grandmother was quietly but persistently encouraging me. I had, against all odds, secured a night-shift job in a German toy factory in Tehran and also managed to enroll at a top school. The following year I found a position with an English consulting and engineering company with a contract to build airports in Iran. In the course of the two years I worked for them, I was able to enroll in English-language classes at the British Embassy and obtain a certificate which entitled me to apply for admission to any university in the

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Tr e a s u r e C h e s t S quare S hawl 44, ( left opposite ).

Kashmir, 19th century

and

6ft 2in x 6ft 3in (1.88 x 1.91m) A very unusual design for a Kashmir shawl, the dragon is the long-standing symbol of the Chinese imperial authority, therefore the piece might have been made to order. Dragons were well developed as a visual concept

by Western Han. An ancient mythological serpent of uncertain origin, which, since the first century, symbolized imperial authority. Although the piece is not in excellent condition, it is definitely a very unique example.

United Kingdom. By now I was speaking English with a British accent and had secured myself a night job at the luxurious Palace Hotel.

During my four years’ stay in Teheran, all my foreign acquaintances kept asking me to help them acquire antique rugs and carpets. At first I took them to the bazaar and advised them on what they should buy and how much they should pay. Eventually, I started buying and selling myself and I was able to make a tidy profit, especially when buying directly from Kerman. At the same time, I was accumulating a collection of my own to send to Europe.

My time in Vienna was probably the most dramatic stage of my life. My boyhood friend Ali received me warmly and, as I had followed his advice to learn German, I felt at ease. But one day after I had been there three months, he came to me all shaken up telling me a sad story about disaster at home.

He said he had to leave for Iran at once. Of course, I offered him all my support, including giving him the documents of all the carpets I had in the “free zone”. He was to sell them so he could get back to Kerman, at which point he would return the money to me. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that this might be the last time I would see him or my rugs. As these rugs were my lifelong savings and the means for me to travel to the rest of Europe and

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Tr e a s u r e C h e s t F ragment 20 Kashmir. 19th century. Shot silk.

1ft 7in x 1ft 7in (0.48 x 0.48m) A composite panel of very fine jamawar twill tapestry shawl cloth woven in polychrome against a yellow ground. A complex design of palmettes contains botehs and flowerheads stemming from an elaborate vase.

One corner very finely worked in white silk with a nasta’liq calligraphy.

Backed with Persian atlas.

The highlight of this piece is the superb signature outstandingly embroidered, that reads “By the efforts of the most humble of Hajji’s, Ata Allah, may he be forgiven, this work was completed.”

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the United States, it was a tremendous setback. Finally, my family sent me the funds to continue my trip to America.

My intention had been to tour Europe, eventually arriving in the United States to complete my education. Before turning over the rugs to my friend Ali, who subsequently disappeared with them, I was lucky to have sent a few bales of carpets and textiles to Germany, France and New York. After I left Vienna, I received a notice from German customs telling me that, because I had not claimed my rugs on time and had not paid the customs charges due, they had been auctioned off in Germany. They enclosed a check for 2,252 Deutschmarks, which I promptly cashed. I soon left for Paris, where I decided to sell the rugs I had previously sent there, and then continued on to New York. I tried to find a market there for the rugs, textiles and antique handcrafts I had sent there, which I thought were treasures but was soon disillusioned when I learned their true value. However, the experience allowed me to make some friends in the trade.

At that point, I thought I was through with the antique rug business. By that time, I was 24 and I had decided to enroll at New York University’s Baruch School of Business. However, I couldn’t stay away from the lure of the carpets long. I found what I knew to be a 16th-century Persian rug in an antique store and attempted to sell it to a prominent New York rug dealer. The dealer refused to buy it, calling me ignorant. He insulted my knowledge of rugs – a knowledge that had been passed down to me by my parents and grandparents back in Kerman, and developed in my years of buying and selling Kerman rugs for foreign companies. I determined then and there to prove him wrong. He subsequently purchased the rug from another dealer at four times my original price. At that point, I made the decision to go into business as his competitor. I opened my first small shop on Fifth Avenue in 1963 with only a handful of rugs. Today, I am pleased to say, the Nemati Collection encompasses over 2,200 antique rugs and tapestries from Asia, the Middle East and Europe, that I have carefully amassed over the years in my travels all over the world.

Tr e a s u r e C h e s t

Plate 18, below: Moon shawls were always rare, although limited production continued throughout the later weaving period

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F a s h i Torne aasnudr eF aC shheisot n a b l e

Plate 18, below: Moon shawls were always rare, although limited production continued throughout the later weaving period

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A bove : Stevens, Alfred (1823-1906) After the Ball. Oil on canvas.

Provenance: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Estate of Marie L. Russell, 1946. (46.150.1) Photograph Š1997 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

F a s h i Torne aasnudr eF aC shheisot n a b l e custom, having bestowed seventeen Kashmir shawls upon his second bride, Marie-Louise of Austria, in 1810. It was considered inappropriate for a shawl to be worn by an unmarried girl.

By the 1820s, an emerging middle class ensured the shawls’ popularity beyond the upper echelons of society, and even a bride from the bourgeosie could be assured of at least one Kashmir shawl in her trousseau. Between 1820 and 1840, as a matter of fact, fashionable men also wore shawls, often over their topcoats while traveling. However, with the advent of the railroad carriage,

B elow : Fragment 12.

Plate 18, below: Moon shawls were always rare, although limited production continued throughout the later weaving period

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F a s h i Torne aasnudr eF aC shheisot n a b l e R ight : Long Shawl 29, detail.

O pposite page : Ingres, Jean-Auguste-Dominique (1780-1867) Madame JacquesLouis Leblanc (Françoise Poncelle, 1788-1839) Oil on canvas.

Provenance: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Collection, Wolfe Fund, 1918. (19.77.2) Photograph © 1998 The Metropolitan Museum of Art

which displaced the drafty horse-drawn carriage, this style became less popular for men.

Soon the demand for these Kashmiri shawls outgrew the supply. French and English manufacturers responded first by manufacturing hand-made exact copies of these shawls, and later by producing machine-made versions to keep up with demand.

By 1830, the new fashions changed the outward female form, as waists gradually dropped to their correct anatomical position, and skirts became slightly shorter and much fuller. The newly fashionable sleeve was the leg-ofmutton – puffed out just below the shoulder and then tight on the arm, and the entire shoulder line was emphasized. The Kashmir shawl adapted beautifully to this new silhouette. Square shawls became the preferred style, worn on all occasions, and was particularly effective in accentuating the width of the shoulders and drawing attention to a narrow waist. When Queen Victoria ascended the British throne in 1837, it became known that she preferred rectangular to square shawls, so the squares decreased in popularity. By 1839, long shawls were the dominant style, since by then sleeves were fuller further down the arm closer to the wrists rather than close to the shoulder, and skirts had gotten longer.

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F a s h i Torne aasnudr eF aC shheisot n a b l e

Plate 18, below: Moon shawls were always rare, although limited production continued throughout the later weaving period

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PTirce tausrue r eG aClhl e sr ty

Kerman 3 6 feet 6 inches x 4 feet 5 inches Material: wool Technique: needle embroidery on a 2x1 twill-woven ground cloth Warp: wool; red; 72 per inch Weft: wool; red; 72 per inch Two equally large sections of twill-woven ground cloth have been joined together and then needle-embroidered to create this weaving that was once used most probably as a prayer mat.

Plate 18, below: Moon shawls were always rare, although limited production continued throughout the later weaving period

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Tr e a s u r e C h e s t

Plate 18, below: Moon shawls were always rare, although limited production continued throughout the later weaving period

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Tr e a s u r e C h e s t

Plate 18, below: Moon shawls were always rare, although limited production continued throughout the later weaving period

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Tr e a s u r e C h e s t

Plate 18, below: Moon shawls were always rare, although limited production continued throughout the later weaving period

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PTirce tausrue r eG aClhl e sr ty

Kerman 15 (opposite) 3 feet 9 inches in diameter Material: wool Technique: needle embroidery on a 2x1 twill-woven ground cloth Warp: wool; red; 80 per inch Weft: wool; red; 80 per inch Several sections of twill-woven ground cloth have been joined together and then needle-embroidered to make this small round table cover. (see detail on previous page) Long shawl 1 (left) 4 feet 4 inches x 9 feet Material: wool Technique: 2x1 and 2x1 tapestry-twill double interlocked at each color joining Warp: wool; red, white, black and green; 84-128 per inch Weft: wool; 72 per inch This rather coarsely woven shawl is missing several inches from each end. It was woven in one piece and then removed from the loom with no additions.

Plate 18, below: Moon shawls were always rare, although limited production continued throughout the later weaving period

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Tr e a s u r e C h e s t

Plate 18, below: Moon shawls were always rare, although limited production continued throughout the later weaving period

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PTirce tausrue r eG aClhl e sr ty

Plate 18, below: Moon shawls were always rare, although limited production continued throughout the later weaving period

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Long shawl 8 (Plate 8) 4 feet 7 inches x 10 feet 2 inches Material: wool Technique: 2x2 tapestry-twill double interlocked at each color joining Warp: wool; red, green, yellow, blue, purple salmon and white; 160 per inch Weft: wool; 96 per inch This long striped shawl was woven in one large section completed on the loom with no additional added materials.

Description: The design of flowers and scrolling vine contained within the stripes of this long shawl need no further interpretation. However, only the large flower with the pointed petals can be identified – it is an iris – the others are more difficult. This particular style of drawing was developed at the end of the 19th century and appears in a distinct group of shawls that share many of the same materials and weaving characteristics. The most noticeable is the high warp count that allowed the successful representation of the intricate design seen here.

Caption: The colors of this long shawl are indicative of the late 19th century and, accordingly, it should be dated circa 1870. Even though it has such a late date, the quality of the materials, weaving and design are extremely high and equal to those in any other tapestry-twill woven Kashmir shawl made after 1800. (see detail on following page)

Tr e a s u r e C h e s t

Plate 18, below: Moon shawls were always rare, although limited production continued throughout the later weaving period

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PTirce tausrue r eG aClhl e sr ty

Plate 18, below: Moon shawls were always rare, although limited production continued throughout the later weaving period

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Sash 2 (Plate 47) 1 feet 9 inches x 8 feet 2 inches Materials: wool and silk Technique: 2x2 tapestry-twill double interlocked at each color joining Warp: wool; red; 148 per inch Warp(border): silk; salmon; 96 per inch Weft: wool; 80 per inch The two end panels, each decorated with one large boteh surrounded by border stripes, are woven in one section. The narrow panels above and below them are also one section of tapestry-twill. The long silk warp side borders and the green undecorated center panel have then been attached to complete this sash. A narrow plain green panel with its fringe was then sewn on as an end finish.

Description: This sash or cummerbund, as they are called in Kashmir, has an unusual field design at each end, an extremely large boteh/paisley flanked by two stripes with patterns very familiar from those used as actual border designs on other long and square shawls. The decoration within the wide stripe containing this boteh/paisley, as well as that within the boteh/paisley itself, provides the best and most concise visual explanation of the pre-rich garden style of drawing possible. Within each of these boteh/paisleys two intertwined racemes, one with stag-horn protrusions, twist and turn their way from the bottom to the top, superimposed over a rich red ground filled with myriad vines and leaves. This dense foliage also appears around the boteh/paisley as well but in this instance it has been placed upon a harlequin field with its positioning slightly less crowded. These designs and the style of their presentation here, as well as those on other masterpiece tapestry-twill weavings of this period, as seen in Plates 9 and 10, perfectly typify the source of the rich garden aesthetic. Their original and brilliant compositions were the stimulus for its development and the models for the many, many later shawls produced in this style – they are the essence of the pre-rich garden.

Caption: This sash should be dated to the mid-1860s but some of the pieces used to assemble it were produced well before this date. The sections at each end with the large boteh/paisleys were most probably made in the early 1840s, the two border stripes directly above them in the mid-1850s, and the narrow long side borders on both sides of the sash in the mid-1860s. The reuse of tapestry-twill cloth with such a wide range of production dates would be very unusual for long and square shawls but not totally uncommon for sashes.

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Plate 18, below: Moon shawls were always rare, although limited production continued throughout the later weaving period

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Square shawl 4 (above) 3 feet x 6 feet 4 inches Materials: wool and silk-wrapped thread Technique: needle embroidery on a 2x1 twill woven ground cloth with additional areas of appliquĂŠd twill-woven areas Warp: wool; red, green, blue, purple and black; 72 per inch Weft: wool; red, green, blue, purple and black; 72 per inch Like the next example (square shawl #5), this shawl is embroidered with silkwrapped metallic thread. However there are several technical differences, the most significant being that this example is embroidered on one large piece of twill-woven ground cloth. Additionally there are areas in which a flat metallic foil has been used to delineate some of the design. Also, the variously colored sections which can be seen in the field are appliquĂŠd onto the ground cloth and then embroidered. As far as can be ascertained, the construction and technique of this shawl are unique.

Plate 18, below: Moon shawls were always rare, although limited production continued throughout the later weaving period

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Square shawl 6 (opposite) 6 feet 4 inches x 6 feet 4 inches Material: wool Technique: 2x2 tapestry-twill double interlocked at each color joining; pieced construction Warp: wool; red; 124 per inch Weft: wool; 96 per inch The irregular pieced construction of this shawl has created the swirling areas of design. These small-to-medium parts are inlaid tapestry-twill woven cloth and they are combined with other medium-sized tapestry-twill pieces to form the field of this shawl. The black ground central medallion is decorated with tapestry twill designs and a multicolored patchwork border of embroidered squares has been attached on all four sides.

Tr e a s u r e C h e s t

Plate 18, below: Moon shawls were always rare, although limited production continued throughout the later weaving period

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PTirce tausrue r eG aClhl e sr ty

Plate 18, below: Moon shawls were always rare, although limited production continued throughout the later weaving period

Square shawl 7 6 feet 4 inches x 6 feet 4 inches Materials: wool, silk warp side borders Technique: 2x2 tapestry-twill double interlocked at each color joining (field); 2x1 tapestry-twill double interlocked at each color joining (silk warp side borders); pieced construction Warp: wool; red; 160 per inch Warp: silk; natural; 96 per inch Weft: wool; 96 per inch Medium-sized pieces of tapestry-twill woven cloth have been joined together in a regular pattern to form the field in this example. The black center has tapestry-twill woven designs and as is usual, the outer border is made up of various colored squares of twill-woven and embroidered ground cloth. (see details on following page)

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PTirce tausrue r eG aClhl e sr ty Square shawl 9 4 feet 11 inches x 4 feet 11 inches Materials: wool, silk Technique: a simple weave ground cloth with needle-embroidered silk thread; pieced construction Warp: wool; black; 86 per inch Weft: wool; 86 per inch This needle-embroidered square shawl is not made on a twill-woven ground cloth as are the other embroidered shawls in the collection. Instead, 4 large regular panels of simple weave ground cloth have been joined and then needle-embroidered. This is quite unusual as is the narrow silk tablet woven chevron-designed border and multicolored silk fringe which has been attached to all four sides.

Plate 18, below: Moon shawls were always rare, although limited production continued throughout the later weaving period

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Cha p t e r 1

T

Architecture and Shawl Design

he history of the Kashmir shawl and its wonderful floral designs could not possibly be explored without looking beyond the confines of textile studies to understand their development. The most overlooked of these studies is the influence of architectural decoration and, specifically, the importance of pre-existing Buddhist and Hindu stone-carving and building decoration, and the re-use of the the materials by the Mughals, the Central Asian invaders who arrived in Northern India as early as the 16th century. The process of re-using these splendidly embellished architectural sections in their own constructions on a large scale did not occur until the 17th century, when the Mughals had successfully consolidated their conquest of most of Northern India. The Mughals ordered the creation of many mosques, public buildings, forts, palaces and tombs, most of which contained re-used architectural elements. But, before detailing this process, let us briefly examine the historical record of the Mughal conquest of Northern India.

The first Islamic state was established in 1192, when Rajput forces were defeated by Muhammad of Ghur, the first of a long line of these Central Asian invaders. This small military foothold was later enlarged and strengthened by Ghur’s successor, Qutub-du-din-Aibak. From this rather small beginning great religious, political and artistic changes were now set to occur in Northern India and Kashmir.

During the next 350 years various foreign rulers controlled different parts of India and “…all share a common ancestry going back to their beginnings in Central Asia and migrations westward.”1 During the period 1325-1351, under the enlightened and cultured ruler Muhammad-ibn-Tughlak, the greatest expansion was achieved as he conquered the entire peninsula except for Gujerat and the teritory far to the South. After this brief period the empire began to disintegrate under weak and incapable rulers and by 1520 was confined to the immediate area around its capital, Delhi. Interestingly enough, the existence

F ragment 18, ( opposite ), see page 111.

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A r c h i t e c Tt ru er ae s au nr ed CS h ea swt l D e s i g n

Fig. 13

Fig. 15

Plate 18, below: Moon shawls were always rare, although limited production continued throughout the later weaving period

Fig. 9

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Fig. 12

A r c h i t e c Tt ru er ae s au nr ed CS h ea swt l D e s i g n of shawl weaving in Kashmir in the 14th century is supported by a reference in the Sarur-us-Sudur, a work dating from Muhammad-bin-Tughlak’s time containing the sayings of Farid-ud-Din, but it does not state what weaving technique was used. “It mentions that Kashmir shawls were available in Delhi and that Nizamuddin Auliya2 had one such shawl”.

To herald the power of Islam and to proclaim their victories, the Muslim conquerors commissioned the construction of mosques and monuments.

When the architectural details of these buildings are examined some important insight can be gained into the influence they played on the development of Kashmir shawl designs.

These armies did not travel with their own architects and stone masons and, “because the building style of Northern India readily lent itself to the construction of mosques and tombs for the newly installed Islamic conquerors,”3 they began a systematic disassembly of the existing temples. “Nothing was easier than to transport the splendidly carved columns…and re-erect them on a plan dictated by the mullahs”4 who supervised the plans and the actual building process. Even though, “when the Arabs started on their career of conquest, the first objects of their iconoclastic zeal were the temples and monasteries of the Buddhists of western Asia “,5 many became consecrated into mosques and government buildings. Studying these architectural details (Figs. 9-15) reveals “the combination of lotus or sunflower, its bell-shaped fruit and water-pot form the basis of design for most temple pillars...”.6 These are the same motifs used by the designers and weavers of Kashmir shawls and it should be quite apparent that this is not an accident or coincidence. The sheer number of these buildings with re-used architectural elements and the faithful reproduction of these motifs in so many shawls virtually proves the validity of this relationship.

To simplify this discussion, it is necessary to outline and name the four major production periods of indigenous Kashmir shawl weaving. It is only possible to imagine what the shawls of supposedly Archaic period, pre-17th century, looked like as only one example (Fig. 8), the fragments from Tipu Sultan’s Coat, is available for reference. Is the larger of the two a lotus or sunflower and is the smaller a crocus? In any event, both of these “flowers” are depicted in an almost-supernatural style compared with those from the next or Classic period. This depiction possibly could indicate that the designs on the shawls, and even the shawls themselves, from this period were imbued with special powers and were connected to some form of metaphysics or spiritualism.

Fig. 14

Fig. 10

Fig. 11

F igure 9, ( opposite ): Pre1440 re-used architectural carved stone fragment.

Provenance: Mosque of Rani Rupamati, Ahmedabad, India.

F igure 10, ( below right ): Front gate of the Mosque of Rani Rupamati showing Fig. 9 in situ F igure 11, ( above ): Minarets built with re-used carved stone sections pre-1423, Jama Masjid, main mosque Ahmedabad, India.

F igure 12, ( opposite ): Pre1423 re-used architectural carved stone fragment.

Provenance: Jama Masjid or main mosque, Ahmedabad, India.

F igure 13, ( opposite ): Pre-1440 re-used architectural carved stone fragment.

Provenance: Mosque of Rani Rupamati, Ahmedabad, India.

F igure 14, ( below left ): Pre-1423 architectural carved stone fragment.

Provenance: Tomb of Sultan Ahmed, Ahmedabad, India.

Provenance: Triple gate city Indiashawls Pentrance, late 18,Ahmedabad, below: Moon 15,rare, ( opposite F igure were always although): limited Pre-1420 architectural production continued section throughout showing precursorperiod design of the the later weaving stag-horn protrusions found on some pre-rich garden period shawls.

Provenance: Triple gate city entrance, Ahmedabad, India.

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A r c h i t e c Tt ru er ae s au nr ed CS h ea swt l D e s i g n The next or Classic period (1650-1750) can be easily divided into two subperiods, early and late. The first (circa 1650) contains shawls decorated with extremely realistic flowering plants (Fig. 3). These examples are extremely rare and more realistic than the shawls from the second half of this broad time period. These shawls always have only one type of flower or blossom and an open, spacious style of drawing which often appears as if the wind has just blown around and through them. They also retain some indications of a root (Figs. 19 and 20).

F igure 19, ( above left ): Early Classic period tapestry-twill woven shawl with iris blossoms circa 1650.

Provenance: Acc. No. 10.988 Bharat Kala Bhavan Museum, Banaras Hindu University, Banaras, India.

Plate 18, below: Moon shawls F igure 20, ( above right ): Early were always rare, although limited Classic period tapestry-twill production continued throughout woven shawl with javakusum the later weaving period blossoms circa 1650.

Provenance: Acc. No. 10.864 Bharat Kala Bhavan Museum, Banaras Hindu University, Banaras, India.

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A few shawls were produced that for all intents and purposes are the same as these early Classic period pieces except for one factor. They have multiple flower blossoms, known as the composite style. Not enough of these exist to form a grouping and only one that exactly fits this description (Fig. 16) is available for publication at this time. For the record, one other is available (Fig. 21), but the denser positioning of the flower blossoms and the drawing style in general, particularly the depiction of small crown-like spires coming from the large rose at the top and the indications of the root made from what look to be leaves, are closer to the next period of Classic weaving.

Examples from the later Classic period (1675-1725) are also rare, but far less so than those of the first. These shawls are also decorated with large naturalistic flowering plant forms but now are always drawn in the composite style (Figs. 22-24). Towards the end of this period, post-1725, the beginnings of a noticeable rise of stylisation, coupled with a more geometric and less curvilin-

A r c h i t e c Tt ru er ae s au nr ed CS h ea swt l D e s i g n ear drawing style, can be seen. In addition to these shawls, whose end borders were decorated with one row of large flowering plants, another drawing style was initiated some time around 1725. These shawls were technically the equal of the others, but instead of one row of large floral motifs they have multiple rows, each row containing a number of smaller plants each with a large bud, small leaves and a spindly stem. One example (Fig. 25) demonstrates how one version of these floral sprig shawls was decorated and another (Fig. 26) may actually be earlier, even though it has more rows and a less-complex floral display.

The material from which this shawl was woven seems to have a high percentage of asli tus, and this fact, together with the exactness of its weaving technique and, most significantly, the presence of a border pattern found exclusively on only early Classic period shawls, all indicate an early date of production.

Many of the fragments from Tipu Sultan’s Rich War Jacket were originally from shawls of the later Classic period. These sprigged shawls, in common with the others of this period, exhibit a less naturalistic and more geometric drawing style. This style is most apparent in the drawing of the flowering blossoms or buds that are far less realistic and have neither the grace and charm of the earlier Classic period forms nor the mystery and magic possessed by the Archaic examples.

Shawls of the third or post-Classic period (1750-1810) were often made using materials and weaving techniques similar to those of the previous later Classic period. By the end of the 18th century, however, these shawls often exhibited the effect of increased production, foreign interference and influence. The greatest and most visible difference was the inclusion of a vase or water-pot motif placed under the flowering plant (Fig. 24). Also, the flowering plants were drawn in a much tighter composition, the blossoms and buds more closely positioned and often appearing somewhat clustered. Many examples have one extremely large blossom at their tops (Fig. 21).

The shawls of the later 19th century period (circa 1820-1870) are quite different from the earlier ones. These shawls are a far less homogenous group and their greatest virtue is the number of radically different styles developed and introduced throughout these final years of shawl production in Kashmir. Most shawls were still made with the same tapestry-twill weaving technique, but others were not tapestry-twill woven. Instead the designs were needle-embroidered on a solid-color twill woven ground cloth.

Fig. 22

Fig. 23

Fig. 24

Fig. 21

F igure 21, ( above ): Classic period tapestry-twill woven shawl with composite flowering plants circa 1675.

Provenance: Acc. No. 10.1131 Bharat Kala Bhavan Museum, Banaras Hindu University, Banaras, India.

F igure 22, ( below left ): Later Classic period tapestry-twill woven shawl with composite flowering plants growing from a hillock or mound circa 1675.

Provenance: private collection.

F igure 23, ( below middle ): Later Classic period tapestry-twill woven shawl with composite flowering plants with a denser drawing style circa 1725.

Plate 18, :below : Moon rovenance Acc. No. 10.642shawls Bharat Kala were always rare, Banaras althoughHindu limited Bhavan Museum, University, production continued throughout Banaras, India. the later weaving periodright ): Later 24, ( below F igure Classic period tapestry-twill woven shawl with composite flowering plants with the denser drawing style leading to the development of the familiar boteh/paisley circa 1750.

Provenance: private collection.

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A r c h i t e c Tt ru er ae s au nr ed CS h ea swt l D e s i g n

F igure 25, ( above right ): Later Classic period tapestry-twill woven shawl with three rows of composite flowering plants circa 1750.

Provenance: private collection.

F igure 26, ( above left ): Fragment from a late Classic shawl with multiple rows of small floral sprigs circa 1700.

Provenance: private collection.

Plate 18, below: Moon shawls were always rare, although limited production continued throughout the later weaving period

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Another significant change introduced during this time was the utilization of a number of weavers to create separate pieces that were then joined together to create the “pieced” shawl. This procedure greatly speeded up the long time period required when a shawl was made by a single weaver or a pair of weavers, which had previously been the traditional method of production.

Sometimes these weavers would produce tapestry-twill woven pieces that were not intended for a particular shawl but instead were commissioned by agents for “stock” purposes. These pieces were then assembled at a later date to the agent’s or merchant’s design specifications. This practice was instituted to facilitate the foreign agent’s and merchant’s ability to market shawls that met the quickly changing fashion tastes and styles in Europe and America. Sheep wool of a lesser quality was often substituted for goat hair or pashmina and the number and quality of the dyes were also reduced. The fully developed boteh/paisley motif almost always replaced the earlier flowering plant forms and the square rather than the long shawl became the most widely produced shape.

Additional details and further clarification of the four periods of shawl production outlined in this brief classification are included in the descriptions accompanying the color plates. Let us turn our attention back to the re-use of architectural decoration.

Central to the study of this relationship is the development of the dome.

“The first domes in India as well as elsewhere were most likely made of bamboo or wood”7 and the finial which can be seen atop most later brick and stone

A r c h i t e c Tt ru er ae s au nr ed CS h ea swt l D e s i g n examples was the vestigial remains of the cap which kept the separate bamboo or wooden poles in place. By examining the domes of the mosques and monuments constructed after the 12th century, a pattern of shared symbols can be discovered. Almost all domes feature a representation of the sun, lotus or sunflower8 with a finial atop that often takes the shape of a water-pot.9 The lotus has frequently been interpreted as a symbol of the sun and also considered the seat or footstool of the Gods on earth and, less commonly, the symbol of the material universe and the heavenly sphere above it. When the water-pot was pictured in conjunction with the lotus flower, it was considered to represent the cosmic vessel that held the creative forces of the universe. These and other metaphysical forces were part of the invisible cosmic ocean thought to surround the earth. Is the appearance of these two symbols, the lotus/sunflower and water-pot, in so many shawls just coincidence?

The ubiquitous blossom that dominates the top of the standard floral bouquet found in many of these shawls is a lotus flower or sunflower and many of them also have a small protrusion growing out of the top of the flower. This small projection is the vestigial remains of a dome’s finial (Figs. 22 and 23).

Some of the earliest Muslim monuments and mosques in Northern India were constructed in the state of Gujerat and its capital city, Ahmedabad. No mosque is more famous than the Jamid Masjid built by Ahmed Shah in 1414.

Like most other buildings of this period, this mosque is constructed almost exclusively from the remains of pre-existing temples and therefore richly adorned with much earlier Buddhist and Hindu stone carving. This building has the typical layout of an Islamic mosque, with a large open courtyard (one of the largest in India) and an interior covered with an arrangement of domes with two huge minarets linking the entrance (Fig. 11). It is interesting to find that positioned in the most conspicuous place on the domes is a vase and flower motif (Fig. 12), which also can be seen on many interior pillars as well as in the most important central position on the back wall (Fig. 13). Even more significant is the placement of this icon on Ahmed Shah’s sarcophagus, which rests in his tomb building adjacent to the mosque (Fig. 27). This mosque was the most important religious monument of its time and, although built by nonMuslim craftsmen, the Muslim clergy oversaw its construction. Their choice of this particular type and style of floral decoration was not limited to this building, as most other monuments built in Northern India during the 15th and 16th centuries show a similar preference for such designs.

F igure 27, ( left ): Flowering plant and water pot motif on the sarcophagus of Sultan Ahmed 1423.

Provenance: Tomb of Sultan Ahmedabad, PAhmed, late 18, below: India.

Moon shawls were always rare, although limited production continued throughout the later weaving period

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A r c h i t e c Tt ru er ae s au nr ed CS h ea swt l D e s i g n

F igure 30, ( above left ): Marble relief of a flowering plant circa 1667.

Provenance: Amber Palace, Jaipur, India.

F igure 31, ( above right ): Marble relief of a flowering plant in an unusual melon shaped vase circa 1667.

Provenance: Amber Palace, Jaipur, India.

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The Mughal conquerors of Northern India and Kashmir came from Central Asia and trace their origin back to Babur, their first ruler and grandson of both Tamerlane and Genghis Khan. After conquering Delhi in 1525, Babur quickly added Agra and Lahore to his growing empire. However, before being able to continue his conquests, he died and was succeeded by his son, Humayun. Unfortunately, the new ruler was neither a clever diplomat nor a military strategist and in 1540 his armies were defeated by Sher Shah, an Afghan, forcing him to seek asylum in Persia. Following the death of Sher Shah in 1545, Humuyun was able to regain control of his empire, but after his death one year later he was succeeded by his young son, Akbar. After assuming royal power on his eighteenth birthday, Akbar proved himself to be an excellent statesman and militarist who soon ruled an area almost as large as Babur’s. Much to his credit, Akbar tried to reconcile the differences between Hindus and Muslims, and created artistic ateliers10 and court environments of great style and luxury in his palaces.11 After ruling for forty-three years he left a political and artistic legacy that has greatly influenced the decorative arts of India to this day. The most important architectural achievement of his rule was the building of the city of Fatipur Sikri,12 where the use of floral designs was taken to new heights.

Akbar’s use and admiration of Kashmir shawls is also well documented.13 He was succeeded by his son, Jahangir, also a generous patron of the arts, under whom floral decoration continued to be developed in all artistic media.

However, Jahangir was a rather weak ruler and it was during this time that the British and French started to establish the economic and political footholds that would soon cause great changes to India’s history, architecture, politics and art.14 After ruling for twenty-two years, Jahangir’s death brought his son, Khurran, better known as Shah Jahan, to the throne.

Shah Jahan’s greatest architectural achievements were the building of the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort. Both of these sites were extensively decorated with exquisite floral decorative motifs, most carved on the sandstone or marble walls (Fig. 28). Perhaps this concentration on the arts did not allow Shah Jahan enough time to attend to the military and political aspects of his rule

A r c h i t e c Tt ru er ae s au nr ed CS h ea swt l D e s i g n and, after he experienced a number of military setbacks and defeats, his eldest son, Aurangzeb, assumed the throne in 1657. Aurangzeb then had his father imprisoned in the Red Fort, where Shah Jahan died eight years later.

During Aurangzeb’s rule a new less opulent court style was adopted. The style reflected his spartan taste, military bearing and hatred for his father’s extravagant lifestyle and the excesses of his court.15 By the time of Aurangzeb’s death in 1707 not only was his empire threatened by hostile military forces on several fronts but also by the encroaching military and commercial power of the British and the French which was beginning to become more manifest.16 For the next thirty years no capable or strong leader came to the throne and in 1739 the invasion of Nader Shah, another Afghan, ended the reality of the Mughal empire in Northern India. Thereafter, the Mughals were only able to rule with the approval and support of the British Government and its commercial agent, The East India Company. Finally, in 1857 the British Empire of India was inaugurated and the long reign of the Mughal Dynasty ended.

At different time periods during the rule of the Mughals, various independent kingdoms were established in Northern India. These small empires coexisted alongside the larger and more dominant Mughal empire, sometimes with its approval and at other times completely outside its control. The most F igure 32, ( left ): View of the courtyard built circa 1743 Amber Palace, Jaipur India.

F igure 33, ( below right ): Ganesh Pol, doorway and vestibule circa 1743 Amber Palace, Jaipur, India.

F igure 34, ( below left ): Amber Icon wall-painting, Ganesh Pol circa 1743, Amber Palace.

Plate 18, below: Moon shawls were always rare, although limited production continued throughout the later weaving period

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