About the Kashmir Shawls

Kashmiri shawls were high-fashion garments in Western Europe in the early- to mid-nineteenth century. Imitation Kashmiri shawls woven in Paisley, Silk shawls with fringes were first made in China and were available by the first decade of the nineteenth century. Ones with embroidery and fringes were also available in Europe and the Americas by 1820. These were called China crepe shawls, and in Spain "mantones de Manila" because they were shipped to Spain from China via the port of Manila.

          Today, shawls are worn for added warmth (and fashion) at outdoor or indoor evening affairs where the temperature is warm enough for men in wool suits but not for women in dresses and where a jacket might be inappropriate.

          The shawls made in Kashmir occupy a pre-eminent place among textile products. The Kashmir shawl is characterized by the elaboration of its design, in which the "cone" pattern is a prominent feature, and by the glowing brilliance, depth, and enduring qualities of its colours. The basis of these excellences is found in the very fine, soft, short, flossy under-wool, called Pashmina, found on the Changra goat.

There are several varieties of pashmina, but the finest is a strict monopoly of the Maharaja of Kashmir. Of shawls, apart from shape and pattern, there are only two principal classes: Loom-woven shawls called Kani kar - sometimes woven in one piece, but more often in small segments which are sewn together with such precision that the sewing is quite imperceptible; and embroidered shawls in which over a ground of plain pashmina is worked by needle a minute and elaborate pattern.