page_title: History of clothing and textiles
section_title: Mughal India
hierarchical_section_title: History of clothing and textiles / Renaissance and early modern period / Mughal India
context_page_description: The study of the history of clothing and textiles traces the development, use, and availability of clothing and textiles over human history. Clothing and textiles reflect the materials and technologies available in different civilizations at different times. The variety and distribution of clothing and textiles within a society reveal social customs and culture.
  The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of most human societies. Men and women began wearing clothes after the last Ice Age. Anthropologists believe that animal skins and vegetation were adapted into coverings as protection from cold, heat and rain, especially as humans migrated to new climates.
  Textiles can be felt or spun fibers made into yarn and subsequently netted, looped, knit or woven to make fabrics, which appeared in the Middle East during the late Stone Age. From the ancient times to the present day, methods of textile production have continually evolved, and the choices of textiles available have influenced how people carried their possessions, clothed themselves, and decorated their surroundings.
context_section_description: Mughal India (16th to 18th centuries) was the most important center of manufacturing in international trade up until the 18th century. Up until 1750, India produced about 25% of the world's industrial output. The largest manufacturing industry in Mughal India was textile manufacturing, particularly cotton textile manufacturing, which included the production of piece goods, calicos, and muslins, available unbleached and in a variety of colours. The cotton textile industry was responsible for a large part of India's international trade. India had a 25% share of the global textile trade in the early 18th century. Indian cotton textiles were the most important manufactured goods in world trade in the 18th century, consumed across the world from the Americas to Japan. The most important center of cotton production was the Bengal Subah province, particularly around its capital city of Dhaka.
  Bengal accounted for more than 50% of textiles and around 80% of silks imported by the Dutch from Asia, Bengali silk and cotton textiles were exported in large quantities to Europe, Indonesia, and Japan, and Bengali muslin textiles from Dhaka were sold in Central Asia, where they were known as "daka" textiles. Indian textiles dominated the Indian Ocean trade for centuries, were sold in the Atlantic Ocean trade, and had a 38% share of the West African trade in the early 18th century, while Indian calicos were major force in Europe, and Indian textiles accounted for 20% of total English trade with Southern Europe in the early 18th century.
  In early modern Europe, there was significant demand for textiles from Mughal India, including cotton textiles and silk products. European fashion, for example, became increasingly dependent on Mughal Indian textiles and silks. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Mughal India accounted for 95% of British imports from Asia.
  Emphasis was placed on the adornment of women. Even though the purdah was made compulsory for the Mughal women, we see that this did not stop themselves from experimenting in style and attire. Abul Fazal mentions that there were sixteen components that adorned a woman. These not only included clothing but also other aspects like that of oiling the body and iqtar. Mughal women wore long loose jamas with full sleeves and in winters it was accompanied by a Qaba or a Kashmir shawl used as a coat. Women were very fond of their perfumes and scents. Jewellery in the Mughal tradition signified not only religious values but also style statements.
caption: A woman in Bengal region in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent, clad in fine Bengali muslin, 18th century.
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