M.2024.184.2
Shawl (Rumal)
India, Jammu and Kashmir, Kashmir region
18501870
Goat-fleece underdown twill double-interlocking tapestry-weave, pieced, with wool embroidery
86 x 76 in.
Informed by Indo-Islamic aesthetics, this red rumal (square-shaped shawl) from the mid-nineteenth century features four large pointed arches. Each arch houses prominent multicolored medallions composed of concentric circles and flanked by intertwined butas over a branching tree of life; dense foliate scrolls fill the spaces in between. The design is echoed in a colorful fringe gate at the top and bottom edges, embroidered with curved arches and palm fronds. The shawl was produced using the piecework process typical of Kashmir, in which various parts were made simultaneously by several weavers. The pieces were then assembled by a rafugar (needleworker), who joined the unfinished edges through reweaving, darning, or embroidery. This process was the result of increasing European and Persian demand for Kashmir shawls, which led to more complex and abstract designs that were too labor- and time-intensive for a single weaver to complete alone.
Shawls woven in Kashmir, located in the northwestern Indian subcontinent, were prized for their luxurious feel, light weight, and warmth. They were worn in a variety of ways on the upper body by both men and women. Their preciousness resides in the extraordinary tactile properties of ultra-fine pashm (cashmere) fibers, which were brushed from the underdown of Capra hircus (goats) that roamed the Himalayas hundreds of miles from Kashmir. The imported fibers were processed, spun, and woven into shawls decorated with buta and floral motifs, achieved with tapestry weaving on a standard horizontal loom. Unlike any other tapestry-woven fabric in the world, Kashmir shawls were made with a two-by-two twill weave throughout, with wefts double-interlocking at the transition between each colored thread to prevent slit openings. Known locally as kani, this technique resulted in textiles with the astounding clarity of design and cohesiveness in the drape of the fabric unique to Kashmir shawls.
Clarissa M. Esguerra
2024