1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Shawl

​SHAWL, a square or oblong article of dress worn in variousways dependent from the shoulders. The term is of Persianorigin (shál), and the article itself is most characteristic of thenatives of N.W. India and Central Asia; but in various forms,and under different names, the same piece of clothing is foundin most parts of the world. The shawls made in Kashmir occupya pre-eminent place among textile products; and it is to themand to their imitations from Western looms that specific importanceattaches. The Kashmir shawl is characterized by theelaboration of its design, in which the “cone” pattern is aprominent feature, and by the glowing harmony, brilliance,depth, and enduring qualities of its colours. The basis of theseexcellences is found in the very fine, soft, short, flossy under-wool,called pashm or pashmina, found on the shawl-goat, a varietyof Capra hircus inhabiting the elevated regions of Tibet. Thereare several varieties of pashm, but the finest is a strict monopolyof the maharaja of Kashmir. Inferior pashm and Kirman wool —a fine soft Persian sheep's wool — are used for shawl weaving atAmritsar and other places in the Punjab, where colonies ofKashmiri weavers are established. Of shawls, apart from shapeand pattern, there are only two principal classes: (1) loom-wovenshawls called tiliwalla, tilikár or káni kar — sometimeswoven in one piece, but more often in small segments which aresewn together with such precision that the sewing is quiteimperceptible; and (2) embroidered shawls — amlikár — inwhich over a ground of plain pashmina is worked by needlea minute and elaborate pattern.