Weiner Mihályné szerk.: Az Iparművészeti Múzeum Évkönyvei 9. (Budapest, 1966)

IPARMŰVÉSZETI MÚZEUM — MUSÉE DES ARTS DECORATIFS - Horváth, Vera: Kashmir Shawls in the Museum of Applied Arts

The same stages of development are readily detectable in the history of Kashmir shawl weaving in the Mogul period.

5 The question of foreign origin deserves to be noticed from another aspect too, that of the raw material of the shawls. The fact that the Kashmir shawl is made of the fleece of Central-Asian mountain goat or Kashmir goat is known only since the 1664 record of Bernier, which is actually rather belated in regard to shawl manufacturing.

6 It is also known that the Kashmir goat is at home almost in the whole of Central Asia, but not in Kashmir.

7 The question may be raised whether the raw material of the shawls was not imported initially by the Persian weavers, since it was not available in the country. As it is, the trade of shawl weaving is not a local branch of art developed by the processing of a home raw material. At the time when Bernier wrote his book, fleece was mainly imported from Ladak and Western Tibet. On account of the Tibetan goat disease in the XlXth century, wool sorts of nearly the same quality were bought even in Khirgizia and used for shawl weaving.

8 In the second half of the XlXth century the goat disease was also one of the factors accounting for the decline of Kashmir shawl weaving. The manufacturing of Kashmir shawls demands a very high proportion of labour, since only the central part of the shawl was made with the shuttle, while the polychromatic border of its two narrow ends, with its complex pattern, was hand-woven without a shuttle, with the help of small wooden spools. Mostly comparable to embroidery, this technique prolonged the manufacturing time to more than a year and contributed substantially to a high increase in price. The Kashmir shawl was actually a luxury article in Mogul India, and the production of the royal manufactures was to meet the requirements of the dynasty and the court. In those times it was only as a royal gift that a shawl came every now and then into Europe.

9 Later, when it became fashionable in this continent, it still remained a luxury article on account of its high price.

10 The origin of the shawl as it was worn in the Mogul era remained for a long time a much debated question. To-day it is already proved by artistic reproductions as well as written records, that the shawl thrown over the shoulder takes its origin from India and not from Persia.

11 Together with the downfall of the Mogul dynasty in the XVIIIth century, the courtly character of the royal manufactures came to an end. In the midst 5 Irwin : op. cit. pp. 11 —15.; Pope, A. U. : Masterpieces of Persian Art. London, 1960. p. 187.; Irwin, J.: Textiles and Ornaments of India. New York, 1956. p. 30. 6 Bernier, F.: Travels in the Mogul Empire 1656 — 1668. English translation: London, 1891. 7 Walson, J. F, : The Textile Manufacture and the Costumes of the People of India. London, 1866. p. 133. 8 Irwin : op. cit. p. 5. ; Mehta, R. J. : The Handicrafts and Industrial Arts of India. Bombay, 1960. p. 103. 9 Yajakar : loc. cit.; Irwin: op. cit. p. 10. 10 Fischel, O. — Boehn, M. : Die Mode. I. München, 1908. pp. 113 — 115. 11 Geijer, A. : Oriental Textiles in Sweden, Copenhagen, 1952. pp. 44 — 46.; One of the earliest informations is published by Irwin, after the 1623 travel book of Pietro della Valle : op. cit. p. 2.; Terry, E. : Voyage to the East Indies. London, 1956.; 1638 records of Mandelsloh are published by Geijer : op. cit. p. 46.