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Mayerskashmir Arts & Craft
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Sat, 15 Oct 2005
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| carpets |
Carpet
A Carpet is a life long investment-it may well be
the single most expensive purchase during your
trip to Kashmir. Kashmiri carpets are world
renowned for two things- they are hand made and
they are always knotted, never tufted. It is
extremely instructive to watch a carpet being
made- your dealer can probably arrange it for
you. Stretched tightly on a frame is the warp of
Carpet. The weft threads are passed through,
the ‘talim’ or design and color specifications
are then worked out on this: a strand of yarn is
looped through the warp & weft, knotted and then
cut. The yarn used normally is silk, wool or silk
and wool. Woolen carpets always have a cotton
base (Warp & Weft),
The finest of Kashmiri carpets are available at
major showrooms.
The soothing blend of colours makes the Kashmiri
carpet a prized possession. silk usually have
cotton base.Sometimes however, the base is also
silk in which case you will see that the fringe
is silk; the cost increases proportionately.
Occasionally, carpets are made on a cotton base,
mainly of woolen pile with silk yarn used as
highlights on certain motifs.
When the dealer specifies the percentage of each
yarn used, he is taking into account the yarn
used for the base too. Therefore, a carpet with a
pure silk pile may be referred to as a 80% silk
carpet.
Carpet weaving in Kashmir was not originally
indigenous but is thought to have come in by way
of Persia. Till today most designs are distinctly
Persian with local; variations. One example,
however, of a typical Kashmiri design is the tree
of life. Persian design not withstanding, any
carpet woven in Kashmir is referred to as
Kashmiri. The color-way of Carpet, and its
details differentiate it from any other carpet.
And while on the subject of colors, it should be
kept in mind that although the colors of Kashmiri
carpets are more subtle and muted than elsewhere
in the country, only chemical dyes
are used-vegetable dyes have not been available
now for hundred years.
The knotting of the carpet is the most important
aspect, determining its durability and value, in
addition to its design. Basically, the more knots
per square inch, the greater its value and
durability. Also there are single and double
knotted carpets. You can quiet easily identify
one from the other on the reverse of the carpet.
The effect that it has on the pile, too, is
important- a double knotted carpet has a pile
that bends when you brush it one way with your
hand, and stands upright when it is brushed in
other direction. A Single knotted carpet is
fluffier and more resistant to touch.
On the loom, a beautiful carpet is woven.
A kashmiri weaving crew-embroidery
Namdas
Far less expensive are these colorful floor
coverings made from woolen and cotton fiber which
has been manually pressed into shape. Prices vary
with the percentage of wool- a Namda containing
80% wool being more expensive than one containing
20% wool. Chain stitch embroidery in woolen and
cotton thread is worked on these rugs.
Papier Mache
At first glance, all Papier Mache` objects look
roughly the same, and the price differential
seems almost unreasonable. However, besides at
least three different grades of Papier` Mache`,
some is actually cardboard or wood! The idea,
however, is not to hood-wink the unwary, but to
provide a cheaper product for someone who wants
the look of Papier Mache` .
To make Papier Mache`, first paper is soaked in
water till it disintegrates. It is then pounded,
mixed with an adhesive solution, shaped over
moulds, and allowed to dry and set before being
painted
A papier mache replica of samovar.
A rich display of papier mache in a Srinagar shop.
and varnished.
Paper that has been pounded to pulp has the
smoothest finish in the final product. When the
pounding has not been thorough, the finish is
less smooth.
The designs painted on objects of Papier Mache`
are brightly colored. They vary in artistry and
the choices of colors, and it is
not difficult to tell a mediocre piece from an
excellent one. Gold is used on most objects,
either as the only color, or as the highlight for
certain motifs, and besides the finish of the
product, it is the quality of the gold used which
determines the price. Pure Gold leaf which has
the unmistakable luster, is far more expensive
than bronze dust or gold poster paint. It also
has much longer life and will never fade or
tarnish.
Varnish which is applied to the finished product,
imparts a high gloss and smoothness which
increases with every coat.
Cardboard, usually indistinguishable from Papier
Mache`, gives slightly when pressed firmly.
Otherwise the only
A wall plate displays the glowing colours of
papier mache art.
A papier mache replica of samovar.
difference is in the price, cardboard
being cheaper than Papier Mache`.
A papier mache replica of a samovar.
Chain Stitch and Crewel Furnishings
Because of the high quality of embroidery done on
wall hangings and rugs, Kashmiri crewel work is
in great demand all over the world.
Chain stitch, be it in wool, silk or cotton, is
done by hook rather than any needle. The hook is
referred to as ari, and quality for quality, hook
work covers a much larger area than needle work
in the same amount of time.
All the embroidery is executed on white cotton
fabric, pre-shrunk by the manufacturers. The
intrinsic worth of each piece lies in the size of
the stitches and the yarn used. Tiny stitches are
used
The art of crewel embroidery can result in
creative wall hangings.
Craftsmen work on a rug patterning crewel-
embroidery to cover the entire area-the
figures or motifs are worked in striking colors;
the background in a single color, made up of a
series of coin sized concentric circles which
impart dynamism and a sense of movement to a
design. The background fabric should not be
visible through the stitches.
Crewel is basically similar to chain stitch. It
is also Chain stitch done on White background,
but here the motifs, mainly stylish flowers, do
not cover the entire surface, and the background
is not embroidered upon. Wool is almost
invariably used in Crewel work and color ways are
not as elaborate as in Chain stitch. They make
excellent household furnishings being hand or
machine washable.
Saffron, Walnuts, Almonds, Honey
Pampore, outside Srinagar, is the only place in
the world besides Spain where saffron is grown.
The crocus Sativus which blooms for a brief month
in the year, has six golden stamens and one
crimson one. It is the crimson Stamen which when
collected and dried is referred to as the most
expensive spice in the world. Sealed jars of this
Spice, with the Government laboratory’s stamp
approval, are available all over Srinagar. When
Plucking of Saffron
buying loose saffron, sampling one strand is
enough, for the flavor and fragrance of saffron
are unmistakable.
The climate of Kashmir is ideal for walnut and
almond trees which grow here in abundance.
Natural honey too, is a produce of the apiaries
which abound in the state.
Silk warm
Silks, Tweeks
Sericulture and tweed weaving are more important
industries in Kashmir, with departments of the
State got. Closely monitoring the process.
Interestingly, just as little or no raw-material
for tweed comes from Kashmir, almost no weaving
and printing of silk is done in the state.
However, the cocoon reared in Kashmir is of the
superior quality, yielding an extremely fine
fiber, and any silk woven from this thread
becomes known. The
fineness of the yarn lends itself particularly
well to the weaves known as ‘chinon’ and ‘crepe
de chine’, in addition to the universally
recognized silk weave.
Tweed on the other hand is woven in Kashmir with
pure, never blended, wool. The resultant fabric,
made with imported know-how, compares favorably
with the best in the world. It is available by
the length occasionally as ready to wear
garments.
Pherans
This garment, somewhere between a coat and a
cloak, is eminently suited to the Kashmiri way of
life, being loose enough to admit the inevitable
brazier of live coals which is carried around in
much the same way as a hot water bottle, Men’s
pherans are always made of tweed or coarse wool;
women’s pherans, somewhat more stylized, are most
commonly made of raffel, which splashes of ari or
hook embroidery at the throat, cuffs and edges.
The quality of embroidery and thickness of the
raffel determines the price.
Shawls
There are three fibers from which the Kashmiri
shawls are made- wool, Pashmina nad shahtoosh.
The prices of three cannot be compared – woolen
shawls being within the reach of the most modest
budget, and Shahtoosh being a once-in-a-lifetime
purchase.
Woolen shawls are popular because of the
embroidery
Passing a fine shahtoosh shawl through a ring.
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