100% cashmere shawl with ladybirds hand-embroidery.

The pashmina wool comes from the Changra goats of the Ladakh region, reared by nomadic herders at 4000m altitude. Their wool, which grows in response to cold climate, is shed in the summer and hand combed in order to obtain the extraordinarily delicate fibre. This is done without any harm to the animals. Each bundle of wool is hand cleaned, treated with rice paste, washed and spun into fine gossamer-like threads ready for the artisans at the loom.

For the artisans, weaving is like meditation; entwined in Sufi tradition, each stitch requires dedication and perseverance, the key to becoming closer to the Almighty. The finest, most delicate, embroidery uses thin needles, known as Sozni (from the Persian word Suzan or needle). Each artisan transcends the limits of patience and time as he weaves magic into each stitch.

Kashmiri crafts were influenced historically by the cultural interaction between Persia and Central Asia, both showcasing patterns and motifs of natural beauty. The Mughal emperor Akbar nicknamed the kashmiri shawl as “parm-narm,” which means "supremely soft". By the 1800s, the Kashmiri shawl mania was at its height from East to West. Legend has it that in 1798 Napoleon stationed in Egypt with his forces, came across a fabric in the desert. Little did he know that the cloth he held was a pashmina shawl, which had travelled all the way from Kashmir, through Iran and into Egypt, in the hands of a merchant. Napoleon sent the shawl to his wife, Empress Josephine. ‘Ugly and very expensive, but light and warm nevertheless’ is said to have been her response. She went on to love them and collected over 400 of the shawls.

Dimensions: 198cm x 102cm