Kashmir Shawls

Kashmir Shawls

       “Next to diamonds and laces, sometimes even before either, ladies love cashmere shawls,” one writer for Peterson’s Magazine explained in 1860. In fact, such shawls were fashionable for almost 100 years, beginning in the 1790s, making a huge impact upon women’s fashions.
       As the anglicized name “cashmere” hints at, the first of these shawls came from Kashmir, in India. “Discovered” by travelers (mostly English) and brought back as gifts for wives, mothers, and daughters, the shawls became the desire of every fashionable English and American lady. (It is said that in 1796 a blind Baghdadian named Sayyid Yehyah visited Kashmir and was given a shawl from the Afghan governor. Sayyid in turn gave it to the Khedive of Egypt, who in turn—the story goes—presented it to Napoleon, who gave it to his wife. In France it was said to have caused a rage, and soon fashionable women everywhere were trying to find their own Kashmir shawls.) Kashmir shawls, however, were not inexpensive; in the mid–19th century, they were generally $100 and up, according to their quality. The more colorful shawls were $500 and more, and very large shawls ran one or two thousand dollars.
       “Fashion or no fashion,” Demorest’s proclaimed in 1883, “there is nothing more elegant than a real cashmere shawl for wear between seasons, and it has a permanent value and beauty which the garment cut from it never possess. Besides, there are now cashmere cloths which imitate India cashmere perfectly, that can be bought for three dollars per yard, and serve a much better purpose than the five hundred dollar shawl, more or less, which, once gone, can never be replaced, perhaps.” In 1790, imitation shawls were being made in England, though Europeans by no means had the weaving capabilities known in India. By 1805, the famous Paisley manufacturers were also making shawls, developing a way to use five different colors of yarn, giving a better imitation of shawls made in Kashmir. Such copies sold for a mere £12.
        Peterson’s Magazine took great care to describe the work that went into each fashionable shawl. One manufacturer, they claimed, “took me to his manufactury, a miserable, dirty building, the working department one large room, about sixty by sixty. Here were some forty men and boys, of all ages, from six up to fifty, arranged in twos and threes, at different looms... all the most valuable shawls are made...in small pieces according to the pattern, and then sewed together...At some looms where they were working, there appeared to be four or five hundred small pins of wood with rolls of different shades of woolen thread, to be used in the different parts of the pattern...Most of the people were at work on a magnificent shawl for the Empress Eugenie of France, a white centre. He says thirty men have been steadily at work on it for six months, and it will require three more months to finish it. The price, when finished, will be about 1,300 supees or 130£, and is such a shawl as would sell for about 800£ in London or New York.” The average shawl, Peterson’s claimed, took fifteen men seven months to create. Yet shawls from an earlier period were all woven in one piece and might take two or three years to complete. Still, it is difficult (sometimes impossible) to detect the seams in pieced shawls.
       Not all these shawls were of a paisley design; in fact, the paisley motif wasn’t developed until c.1800. But there were numerous patterns to choose from. “Those which have the largest amount of white are considered the most desirable,” the editors of The Metropolitan claimed. “We recommend the black centre for the obvious reason that it will not soil so noticeable as the red or white.”
       The best shawls were woven with goat fleece, preferably with what was called the “king’s wool”—the fleece from the belly of wild Asian goats, which was collected in the spring, when the goats rubbed themselves against bushes to rid themselves of their winter coat. But most shawls were made from domestic goat fleece, the pure whites being used as is and the darker fleece dyed in colors. Kashmir shawls were light and smooth, while imitators up until the 1830s were woven from silk or sheep’s wool, making them considerably heavier. A shawl made in Paisley, for example, weighed about 3.5 pounds. A shawl from Kashmir was about 5.5 oz.—which only ensured it’s popularity.

        The size and shape of Kashmir (and imitation) shawls varied greatly over the years, according to the whim of European fashion. In the late 18th century and throughout the Regency era, long, more narrow shawls were favored, with narrow borders. Often, one–yard squares were worn, trimmed with narrow borders. The centers were usually plain or had a small repeating design. By the 1820s, dresses were fuller, and sleeves sometimes excessively wide, so bigger shawls were necessary if they were to have any impact. Shawls of this era were also woven with more colors.
       When hoopskirts became the fashion, the Kashmir shawl found it’s pinnacle of popularity. Everyone who was “anyone” had a Kashmir shawl in her trousseaux (including Sir Walter Scott’s fiancé, who included one costing about $100 in her 1797 trousseau). Adding to the shawls popularity, wide skirts made coats cumbersome and awkward–looking, and shawls seemed an easier and more graceful choice. Many Kashmir shawls were six feet square, some were five feet by 10.5 feet, others five feet by approximately eight feet. Square shawls were folded into a triangle and the larger shawls were folded in two. Imitations during this period could have up to fifteen colors, while a Kashmir shawl could have sixty.
       In 1865, reversible shawls were made in Paisley. Imitation printed shawls could also be had; made of silk, they were beautiful in their own right, and popular among the wealthy.
        The demise of Kashmir shawls came in the 1870s—after all, it was difficult to make a shawl drape artfully over a bustle. Though some women attempted to salvage their shawls by cutting them up and making garments out of them, it was generally considered foolish to do so. Like handmade lace, it was recognized that Kashmir shawls were worth passing down—intact—to the next generation. In addition, the Franco–Prussian war (1870–1871) brought an end to exports from Kashmir, collapsing the shawl industry. During this time, too, imitations made in England cost as little as £1, and printed cotton shawls could be had for even less. Now that they were so affordable, the fashionable declined to buy new shawls
       Nonetheless, they hung onto their old ones. Many Kashmir shawls were passed down generation to generation, and when not worn, were used as piano shawls, shawls for settees, or mere lap throws. Sometimes they even came in handy for dressing. “The wife of a distinguished statesman received an invitation to dine with Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle,” Ehrichs’ Fashion Quarterly reported in 1882. “Being strong-minded and securing the assistance of a maid, she proceeded alone. Imagine her horror and dismay when, on dressing for dinner, she found the body of her dress missing, the skirt only having been packed up. But the lady was not one to be daunted by trifles; she faced the difficulty bravely, and, by draping and folding an Indian shawl about her, she very cleverly contrived to supply the missing article of dress. It was not until retiring for the night that she discovered the cause of a certain discomfort she had experienced when sitting down to be the missing body, carefully pinned in the back part of her skirt for convenience sake in packing.”

COLLECTING TIPS:

Today, sadly, when antique Kashmir shawls re–enter India, they are usually chopped into smaller pieces, a backing is added, and long, plain fringe sewn on. These make their way into fancy boutiques in India. According to Frank Ames, author of The Kashmir Shawl, such hacking has a long tradition. The black or white centers of many antique Kashmir shawls were replaced with different colors in the 19th century, he says. Sometimes shawls were even shipped back to India for alterations. A careful inspection will sometimes reveal whipstitches where modifications were made, but many shawls use embroidery to conceal these stitches. Ames suggests that buyers inspect all shawls very carefully. Look for thinning and holes in the fabric, as well as “buckling,” which was caused by washing and drying the shawl improperly. Most of the dyes used for authentic Kashmir shawls were good quality vegetable dyes, but in the early 19th century, Kashmir fell into economic hard times and some weak dyes were used—especially for greens. Collectors should also be aware that shawls are still produced in Kashmir today—but not of the same quality as those from the 18th and 19th centuries.

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04/21/2006