Most renowed of kashmir handicrafts,the shawl has a magnificence unmatched by any other fabric.The jamavar for its meticulous worksmanship and the shahtoosh for its luxurious softness are the connoisseurs delight the world over.Draped over the shoulders the shawl adds grace to the feminine from.Techique-wise, the kashmir shawl is of two main types-tyhe loom-woven or the Kani shawl and the needle-embroidered or the Sozni-shawl.Kani shawl, the variety earlier much in vouge,is woven on the loom with wefts of the patterned section inserted by means of wooden spools-Kani being the kashmiri word for such a spool.An intresting aspect of the weaving techique is the coded pattern known as Tlim- a sort of shorthand scribed by the Naqash or the pattern-drawer for the guidance of the weaver in the selection of colour and number.
The needle-embroidered or the Sozni shawl which involves as lesser outlay, though not lesser dexterity , is the brain-child of an Armenian trader,Khawaja Yusuf, who came to kashmir in 1803 as agent of a Constantinople trading firm. The embroidery is exquiste and is done in a variety of charming designs. while the stylised Badam or the almound is a dominant motif,sprays of local flowers,the Chinar leaf and gay-plumaged birds also recur in embroidered patterns
Available in two diffrent sizes of shawl and stole.
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