This Natural Color Kani Hand Weave Sozni Embroidery Pashmina Shawl is made from the cashmere of the neck and belly of Chantangi goats, which inhabit the Himalayas at altitudes above 4,000 meters. From collecting the wool to hand-spinning the yarn, to the Kani weaving, the patterns, and finally the Sozni embroidery, the entire process takes years and requires exquisite skill. This makes each scarf incredibly precious and rare. The artisans' creativity makes each piece unique in color and embroidery. Their superb craftsmanship creates luxurious embroidered cashmere shawls, making them a favorite among celebrities. This exquisite piece carries on a centuries-old tradition and is a true collector's item.
This ultra-luxurious shawl perfectly combines two of Kashmir's top Persian court crafts: Kani Weaving and Sozni Embroidery.
Its legendary origins lie in the frigid plateau of the Himalayas, at an altitude of over 4,000 meters. Here dwell the rare Changtangi goats, whose winter temperatures plummet to -40 degrees Celsius in late autumn, producing the world's most prized Pashmina cashmere. Its fibers are incredibly fine, only about 12 to 15 micrometers in diameter. Due to their extreme fragility, they cannot withstand the strain of modern machinery. Therefore, from spring harvesting, hand combing, hand-spinning, to natural dyeing, everything is done by hand. This natural gift, soft, lightweight, breathable, and incredibly warm—like a second skin—is what allows it to withstand the tens of thousands of twists and turns of wooden shuttles and needlework.
This legendary craft dates back to the 14th century. At that time, the Persian saint Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani led more than 700 Persian artisans and scholars to Srinagar, Kashmir, to impart the ultimate Persian court aesthetics and weaving techniques to the locals. Since then, this craft has been passed down orally and by hand among the Persian descendants in Srinagar, revered as a cultural heritage protected through generations.
In the production process, the artisans first stretch plain-colored cashmere warp threads onto a traditional wooden loom. Hundreds, even thousands, of small, eyeless wooden shuttles (Kanis), wound with different colored cashmere threads at both ends, hang neatly in front of the loom. The weaving is a skillful collaboration between two artisans: the lead weaver, looking at the slender strips of paper, loudly chants the ancient "Talim" weaving code in a rhythmic tone; the artisan operating the shuttles relies entirely on hearing, his hands flying as he picks up the warp threads, weaves the shuttles, manually knots and locks the threads, and then tightens them with a wooden comb. With unwavering focus, artisans use kani shuttles to weave tiny, three-dimensional twill geometric diamond patterns into the warp and weft of pure cashmere. A skilled artisan, blindly weaving while listening to music all day, can only advance about 2.5 millimeters. The creation of an entire base fabric often requires six months to three years of painstaking effort.
Sozni embroidery is a Persian courtly aesthetic embroidery weaving technique passed down through generations of Kashmiris. This type of embroidery is called "Soni" (meaning "needle and thread" in Urdu, India). The exquisite craftsmanship transforms the final fabric into something resembling a painting. Sozni embroidery is entirely handmade, without the use of any machines, and is done entirely by artisans of Persian descent residing in Sliga, Kashmir. The complexity of the Sozni embroidery pattern affects the time required to complete it. An embroiderer may spend months working on a simple pattern, just one inch wide, along the four sides of a shawl under a lamp. The most complex, fully embroidered shawl can take up to six years to complete.
Pashmina, derived from the Persian word Pashmineh, means "ultimately soft wool." It is made from the Changtangi goat, which inhabits the Himalayas at altitudes above 4,000 meters. Winter temperatures can drop as low as -40 degrees Celsius. The soft down that goats grow in late autumn is the softest and most prized wool in the world. Its fibers are long and fine, only about 12 to 15 micrometers thick, making it soft to the touch, lightweight, breathable, and warm. Because the fibers are so fragile, they cannot withstand machine pulling; from harvesting and hand combing to spinning and dyeing, everything must be done by hand to withstand the tens of thousands of pulls of the wooden shuttle.
The Kashmiri Pashmina Gallery brand was founded in 1935 in Srinagar, the heart of craftsmanship in northern Kashmir, India.
The history of this great craft dates back to the 15th century when the Persian saint Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani came to Kashmir to preach and personally trained 700 top masters skilled in Pashmina weaving and silk carpet techniques. Since then, handmade Pashmina... The tradition has been passed down orally among the Persian descendants in Srinagar.
To this day, each of our pieces still requires master craftsmen to dedicate at least six months, or even several years, to complete. The extraordinary skill, patience, and unwavering focus embodied in this process are deeply rooted in the rich heritage of Kashmir's craftsmanship.
We insist on using rare Pashmina cashmere from goats inhabiting the frigid Himalayas at altitudes above 4,000 meters. In winter temperatures that drop to -40 degrees Celsius, these goats grow exceptionally soft and warm wool in late autumn. The fibers are only about 12 to 15 centimeters in diameter. Micrometers. Due to the extreme fragility of the fibers, they cannot withstand the pulling of any modern machinery. Therefore, from harvesting, hand combing, hand-spinning to natural dyeing, everything must be done by hand. This natural gift brings a soft, lightweight, breathable, and extremely warm feel. Wearing it feels like a second skin—weightless, figure-hugging, and exuding an indescribable sense of supreme luxury.
Product Details: Suitable for air-conditioned rooms in summer, spring, autumn, and winter.
Size: 100 cm wide, 200 cm long.
Material: 100% Cashmere
Product Number:BE/NC-9100