Five hundred years ago, the most exquisite product of Kashmiri looms was the highly prized jamavar scarf, which was… Five hundred years ago, the most exquisite product of Kashmiri looms was the highly prized jamavar scarf, which was immediately desired throughout Europe as soon as traders brought them back along the Silk Road from the Himalayas. Once the mark of royalty in Southeast Asia, jamavar is woven using weft threads (the horizontal threads on a loom) that do not run the full width of the fabric. Rather, the threads are woven back and forth in tiny areas to create individual blocks of color in a painstaking process where one scarf could take years to complete. Before the invention of the jacquard loom, only the wealthiest patrons could afford the Persian and Mughal patterns that arose from master Kashmiri tailors hands.
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