Kashmir Pashmina is a fine woollen fabric obtained from the fleece of Himalayan Mountain Goat ‘Capra hiracus’ or Pashmina Goat. It is spun out of the fleece by hand spinning process using warp & weft yarns by craftsmen from Jammu & Kashmir. It could be rendered with find hand embroidery in different proportions.
The quest for making a fine warm fabric that can protect them from the atrocious weather in severe winters created Pashmina. Himalayan farmers climb the high altitude pastures of Western Himalayas to comb fine woollen undercoat from the neck and belly of the Pashmina goat. The fleece obtained is very fine in the inside and gradually becomes coarse in the outside.
Pashm has a special luster due to its long, fine fibres, which are as thin as 12-16 microns, the fibres from premium sheep’s wool, such as Merino extra fine are 23 micro thick, while a human hair ranges up to 200 Microns thickness. Thus Pashmina is exceptionally light, soft and warm and feels luxurious against the skin.
The traditional method of production has evolved for more than 600 years and has helped in retaining the unique soft character of Pashm wool. The natural colour of the fleece range from white to grey, red, brown and black. Pashmina is the woven form of Pashm.
The fabric is dyed according to the requirements of the end product. A separate class of workers called the Kashmiri Rangrez who are proficient in dyeing yarn, capture the softness of the natural colours of the past with industrially produced dyes. Finally the fabric is carefully washed by the traditional washers in the running waters of the tributaries of river Jhelum
It is made in 3 qualities which are largely assessed on the fineness of the yarn and the tension of the weave. During the weaving process the fabric is woven in three basic weaves, which are;
1. Twill or Sade Bunai
2. Diamond or Cheshm-e-Bulbul Bunai
3. Herringbone or Gada Kond Bunai
Among the three, Diamond weave is produced in large quantities and considered special to Kashmir while, Herring bone is made on specific orders only.
GI Tag Registration Date : 12 September 2008
GI Tag Number : 46
Certificate Number : 97
Geographical Area : Jammu and Kashmir
Special Cover Release Date : 17 August 2021
Cancellation : Srinagar 190 001
Type : GI Tag Cover
Cover Identification Number : J&K/03/2021
Enlarged View of Illustration
Top right corner depicts the Logo for Kashmir Pashmina
Enlarged View of Cancellation
Cancellation depicts Logo of Kashmir Pashmina
India Post has issued few postage stamps on Kashmir Pashmina details of the same are furnished below
Extracted from Happy New Year - "Splendours of India" Sheetlet
Issued on 01 January 2017
Very nice to see all related philatelic materials at one place. ,,,👍👍
ReplyDeleteThank you sir
ReplyDeleteSir, I got to know the famous of Kashmir Pashmina shawl in detail through your information . And you showed about our Postal department issued 4 Philatelic materials regarding this shawl in the various period . It is very nice learning Philatelic knoweldge.
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