page_title: Kashmir shawl
section_title: Material
hierarchical_section_title: Kashmir shawl / Definition / Material
caption_attribution_description: English: Pashmina_goats, Ladakh
context_page_description: The Kashmir shawl is a type of shawl identified by its distinctive Kashmiri weave, and for being made of fine shahtoosh or pashmina wool. Contemporary variants include the pashmina and shahtoosh shawls. In the late 20th century, they evolved to middle-class popularity through generic cashmere products, and raffal, shawls woven in the Kashmiri style, but using thicker Merino wool. Originally designed as a covering for men in India, it has evolved in the popular cultures of India, Europe, and the United States as indicators of nobility and rank, heirlooms giving on a girl's coming-of-age and marriage, and subsequently, as artistic elements in interior design.
  Valued for its warmth, light weight and characteristic buta design, the Kashmir shawl trade inspired the global cashmere industry. The shawl evolved into its high-grade, sartorial use in the 13th century, and was used in the 16th century by Mughal and Iranian emperors, both personally and for honouring members of their durbar. In the late 18th century, it arrived in Britain, and then in France, where its use by Queen Victoria and Empress Joséphine popularised it as a symbol of exotic luxury and status.
context_section_description: Kashmir shawls are traditionally made either of shahtoosh or pashmina. Shahtoosh wool comes from the fine hairs on the underbelly of the Tibetan antelope. Cashmere derives its name from the home of the Kashmir shawl, and is often incorrectly equated with pashmina. Pashmina and cashmere both come from the Changthangi goat, but pashmina is made from a fine subset of cashmere ranging from 12-16 microns, whereas generic cashmere ranges from 12-21 microns.
  Shahtoosh shawls are made from the hair of the Tibetan antelope, which averaging 7-10 microns in diameter, is the finest hair in the world. These derived only from wild animals, grown during the harsh winters and rubbed off on rocks and shrubs in the summer, from where they were collected for weaving. As the fineness of a shawl in India was traditionally seen as a mark of nobility, they were historically reserved for members of the Mughal aristocracy. In the mid-eighteenth century, they became popular after their use by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Empress Joséphine of France. In Mughal times, they became known as "ring shawls", for being extremely light, and fine enough that a one metre by two metre shawl could be pulled whole through a finger ring. They remain known this way today. They today serve also as status symbol, valued on average between USD $2,000 and $3,000, but for up to $15,000. Today, the export of shahtoosh shawls is banned under CITES, and their production and sale banned under wildlife protection laws in India, China and Nepal. Domestic laws in the US also prevent their sale.
caption: Pashmina goats in Ladakh
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