KASHMIR PASHMINA SHAWLS

THE KASHMIR PASHMINA SHAWLS

EMBROIDERED   PAISLEY   SAFARI

Pashmina is one of the world's most luxurious natural fibers, derived from a rare Central Asian mountain goat. Nomads living in the rugged and remote Himalayan mountains tend to the goats. Only those goats found about 14,000 ft. where high speed winds and freezing temperatures exist, possess a special undercoat of "pashm." Other long, coarse hairs envelop the goat and conserve the delicateness of the animal's underfleece. It is this wool (pashm) which serves to make the shawls, refered to as Pashmina after being woven. "This type of goat is probably the most beautiful of all wool-producing goats," wrote S. Turner, England's ambassador to Tibet in 1783. "It is superior in beauty, color and texture to all others." For many generations, Pashmina shawls have been collected as heirlooms and honoured as symbols of prestige throughout the world. Kashmir is the only place in the world where fine embroidered Pashmina Shawls have been woven, like Shahtoosh and Jamavar. Pashmina Shawls are hand-embroidered in Kashmir. Kashmir lies in the Valley of the Himalayas, surrounded by the highest mountains in the world. Kashmir was one of the important trade routes between east and west. Although it has a long history of political upheavals, the people of Kashmir have kept the art of shawl-weaving as one of their best forms of artistic talent. From its early appearance as a graceful, naturalistic flowering plant in the 17th century, the motif commonly known as 'Paisley' represents Indian art through its mutations over the next two hundred years in the familiar teardrop shape. At the court of the Mughal emperors of northern India, a single flowering-plant motif appeared and became a hallmark of Mughal art. In the Himalayan region of Kashmir, this design was used to embellish fine, goat-hair shoulder mantles and sashes woven for male officials of the Mughal court. The original motif gradually developed into a variety of fantastic floral arrangement and eventually into a nearly abstract, teardrop shape. At the end of the 18th century, the elegant mantles of Kashmir became fashionable among European women, and the design was transplanted to the West. Further abstraction of the motif occurred in European-manufactured shawls, and the term 'Paisley' refers to the town in Scotland responsible for producing a great number of shawls with this motif during the 19th century.

Tariq's Designer Rugs & Kashmir Pashmina Shawls also has a unique selection of carpets, Pashmina shawls and throws. You can view a few of our products on this site or send us E-mail at: tariqkathwari@hotmail.com