Kashmir Shawls

As wondrous as the first green leaf of spring high up in the Himalayan range,

as intense as the blue sky of a perfect summer day and orchards filled

with apples and cherries,as festive as the harvest of fall

and maple leaves blazing a fiery orange across the Kashmir valley,

and as breathtaking as the first snowfall of winter

covering the mystic land in a pure white blanket

Seasons Shawl Collections is an exclusive, exquisite, and timeless collection

of hand made and hand embroidered shawls from Kashmir

meant for only those with the most distinctive taste.

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Kashmir Company's Seasons Brand proudly offers

Exquisite Kashmir Shawls Collections 

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The Kashmir Ivory Shawl Collection
      Kashmir valley is referred by locals as ‘Paradise on Earth’. Surrounded by the snow capped mountain ranges of the mighty Himalayan ranges, this is a land of magnificent Himalayan glaciers, luxuriant white flowers blooming in the almond orchards, flocks of snow white sheep grazing in the highland pastures, white waters of mountain streams gushing down into the meandering river Jhelum and fluffy white clouds reflected in the majestic Wular lake and the beautiful Dal lake as they float by in the clear blue sky.
Each an ‘ivory’ vignette of the beautiful spring-summer season in Kashmir. And as winter arrives, a white blanket of snow covers the surrounding mountains and Kashmir valley, freezing the many lakes and  turning the valley into a winter wonderland.

Inspired by the beauty of white captured so eloquently by nature in Kashmir, we have created the Ivory collection – an exclusive offering of elegant 100% hand embroidered Kashmir shawls in shades of ivory on 100% Kashmir wool. Each and every shawl breathtakingly exquisite and unique, any shawl in our Ivory shawl collection can make a summer day or night special. A wedding or a walk on the beach with a special someone, a Sunday afternoon stroll through the shopping district, a graduation, a homecoming, a christening or afternoon tea with friends – the possibilities are endless and making an elegant statement subtly and beautifully is just a shawl away.



The Kashmir Reshum Silk Shawl Collection
    In For many centuries the Great Silk Road connected a complex network of trade routes from Europe with Asia. The route was so named as silk was considered more expensive than gold and was rare and expensive in the west. Trade caravans, diplomatic missions, merchants representatives of religious circles, dervishes, warriors and millions passed on this road through time, one of the most famous travelers being Marco Polo in the 13th century. A second trade route joined the Great Silk Road  across the Khunjerab pass, that  linked Kashmir and the capital of Punjab, Taxila.
 
For Kashmir, the Great Silk Road was not only the trade lifeline, but also routed all the religious, social and cultural influences that shaped the destiny of this land. Hieuen Tsaing, the great  Chinese traveler came to Kashmir walking on this road.  This road was also used by the great Sufi saints of Central Asia who came to Kashmir and spread the light of Islam.
 
‘Reshum’ in Urdu language means silken thread.
Inspired by the Great Silk Road, the Kashmir Reshum Shawl Collection is an exquisite collection of shawls made of 100% Kashmir silk.  The intricate silk hand-embroidery on these lustrous shawls further enhances the beauty of these very exotic and one-of-a-kind shawls.



The Kashmir Paisley Shawl Collection
    Kashmir shawl has been characterized by the boteh (or buta,meaning flower),the principal motif with which the shawl is associated. This repetitive curvilinear shape has been known by many names since its first appearance on shawls in the eighteenth century - most famously called paisley. The development of the Kashmir shawl is closely related to the development of the boteh motif; the motif’s different forms express different periods in the shawl’s development. It began in the Mogul period as the flowering plant and by the middle of the nineteenth century it had developed into an extremely stylized form of sweeping sinuous curves far removed from any resemblance of nature’s flora.

The Kashmir Paisley Shawl Collection is all about the ‘boteh’ design that Kashmir shawls are famously associated with. Hand embroidered on 100% Kashmir wool, all shawls in this shawl collection have a myriad of  paisley designs ranging from the simple to the very complex using naturally colored bright threads that further emphasize the beauty of this famous motif.




The Kashmir Nishaat Shawl Collection
    Nishaat Garden was created in the mid 17th century on the shores of the beautiful Dal Lake in Kashmir valley  by the brother of the Mogul Empress Noor-Jahan. A tiered garden that descends gradually to almost merge into the Dal lake (the 12 tiers symbolizing the 12 signs of the zodiac) is home to many unique plants and flower species, and is especially breathtaking in spring. Against a backdrop of the Zabarwan mountains and the majestic Pir-Panjal ranges of the Himalayas this 350 year old tiered garden even today continues to capture the imagination with its majesty and beauty as it did when created for the Mogul Empress centuries back.

Inspired by the beauty of this famous garden we have created the Nishaat Collection of hand embroidered shawls. This shawl collection, just as its inspiration, is elegant and timeless and has been hand embroidered using traditional skills that is as old as the garden itself. The shawls are 100% hand embroidered on 100% Kashmir wool, by master shawl craftsman from Kashmir, with sinuous vines and flowers that capture the breathtaking colors of the seasons in Nishaat Garden. Symbolic of new beginnings, the stunning shawls in the Nishaat Shawl Collection are perfect to make any occasion memorable and any moment special.


History of Kashmir Shawls
Shawls have been woven in Kashmir since about the eleventh century, but the industry producing what we refer to as a Kashmir shawl is thought to have begun during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. During the fifteenth century Persian replaced Sanskrit as the official language and the world ‘shawl’ derives from the Persian shal, denoting a class of woven fabric rather than an article of dress. During its history Kashmir experienced Mughal, Afghan and Sikh invasions, all of which left their stylistic influence on the shawl.

The Mughals conquered Kashmir in 1586. Under their rule the arts blossomed and the shawl industry grew. Weavers were brought in from Eastern Turkestan where the type of weave later used for Kashmir shawls was practiced. Persian men had traditionally worn narrow waist girdles of shawl fabric, as part of male dress, while the Indians wove wide shoulder mantles for male attire. These were usually given as prestigious gifts, and one can clearly see the honor in which they were held by looking at miniatures of the period, where the proud owner is seen wearing such an accessory. From about 1775 Kashmir shawls were acquired by travelers, explorers, military personnel and members of the East India Company who appreciating their beauty and warmth, brought them back as presents. In Carola Oman's life of Sir Walter Scott, The Wizard of the North, it is recorded that Scott's French bride Charlotte Carpentier was given a Kashmir shawl in 1797 for her trousseau which cost 50 guineas (£50/ $100), a huge sum.