Reversible Throw

From Heritage Trading Company

A cozy, jacquard-woven bedspread or throw with a classic design of paisleys and flowers.  Made of wool and silk with fringe on all four edges.

This item is shipped from India.  Please allow 2-3 weeks for delivery.

MA12-103

Jan-26-05 Praise : MUSEUM QUALITY (AS IN EXHIBIT, NOT GIFT SHOP) - I'M A REPEAT BUYER

Oct-18-07 Praise : BEST PASHMINA JAMAVAR ON NET!!! I LOVE THIS COMPANY, CUSTOMER FOR LIFE!!!!!!!

Nov-05-07 Praise : Lovely item. Similar ones go for 3-4x this price...excellent value. Thanks!

Apr-10-08 Praise : Unbelievable quality for next to no money. I will be back. THANK YOU

Sep-16-09 Praise : Superb item, with it I feel like a queen!!!

Apr-19-10 Praise : This shawl is a masterpiece.

Aug-28-10 Praise : Each shawl lovelier than the last, best on ebay! cheers

Jan-08-11 Praise : What a piece of textile art! I am very impressed. Many thanks!

Mar-08-11 Praise : Spectacular!!! Majestic!!!

Mar-18-11 Praise : Tout simplement merveilleux, très heureuse Vendeur AAA+++

Oct-21-11 Praise : Bought for a gift, but it will be hard to give away! Beautiful! Great seller A+!

Nov-14-11 Praise : Amazing quality indeed and very soft. Thanks!

Mar-05-12 Praise : Wow! So beautiful. Fabulous quality, very good price, thank you so much

Mar-26-12 Praise : The colors on this are fabulous! I love it

Apr-18-12 Praise : Gorgeous as always. Comfortable, beautiful, always the best on eBay!

May-02-12 Praise : Stunning scarf, perfect service, I love this store!!!!!

Truth In Advertising:  Some Definitions & Some Comments About India Shawls & Throws

FIRST, THE DEFINITIONS

Jamavar Shawls

     (Also spelled jamawar, jamavaar, jhamevar)

     The jamavar technique of weaving intricate, Persian-inspired motifs was brought to the Kashmir region of India in the 15^th Century under the patronage of one of the kingdom's most admired rulers, Zain-ul-Abdin.  Patterns in these early jamavars were created by using weft threads of various colors that did not run the full width of the fabric.  Rather, they were woven back and forth in small areas to create the desired, tiny color blocks.  These jamavars became fashionable with European aristocracy in the 18^th Century.  Because of the costly weaving technique, the patterns often covered just the edges and ends of the shawls.   Even so, only the wealthiest people could afford them.  The invention of the jacquard loom in the 19^th Century meant that shawls with the traditional jamavar designs could be produced cost-effectively for a much larger market.  And the motifs began to cover larger portions of the shawls.

     Today the term “jamavar” usually refers to shawls with intricately woven, Persian/Mughal-inspired patterns.  (It rarely refers to the original weaving technique.)  Some modern jamavars simulate earlier weaving traditions by using supplemental warp and/or weft threads, which extend across only a portion of the fabric, to create complex, multicolored designs on some areas of the shawl, while leaving large, solid color blocks in other areas.

Pashm*na  (In accordance with Ebay rules, we can't spell out this word, lest our auction appear in a search for articles made of that material.  But we think you'll figure out our message anyway.)

     NOT a generic term for any shawl from India, “p*shmina” refers to a very specific and very costly material.  "Pashm*na" is the inner coat wool of a particular Himalayan goat (Capra hircus).  Articles made from "p*shmina" are very expensive, even when purchased in India directly from a manufacturer’s agent.  Less expensive are blends of "p*shmina" with other materials such as wool or rayon.

     In our experience, it is not possible to make a wholesale purchase of 80 inch by 28 inch, jamavar, 70% "p*shmina" blend shawls from a manufacturer’s agent in India for less than $50 (US currency) apiece.  It is also not possible to circumvent the agents and buy directly from the manufacturers—we tried.

C*shmere

     Also NOT a generic name for shawls from India, “c*shmere” is another name for "p*shmina".  Some people prefer to use the term “cashm*re” to refer to the larger diameter fibers (15-19 microns) and reserve the term “pashm*na” for the finer grade (11-14 microns).

Kashmir

     A region of Northwest India.  Not "c*shmere" fabric.

Kashmiri

     The adjective meaning that something is “of Kashmir.”  It can mean any shawl from Kashmir or designed in the tradition of Kashmir.  It does not mean "c*shmere" material.  The term is often used to refer to certain types of embroidery.  In one popular type of Kashmiri hand-embroidery, the pattern is made from many tiny, straight stitches.  Chain stitch is another traditional style.  (Heritage Trading sells some shawls with Kashmiri embroidery.)  Because of Kashmir’s current political instability, much Kashmiri embroidery is now done outside that state. 

Viscose

     Rayon.  Viscose is the word much of the world uses to refer to what Americans call rayon.  Read the fine print on shawl auctions.  Some shawls described as "pashm*na" in the title are revealed to be 100% viscose in the small-font part of the description.

THE COMMENTS:  TRUTH IN ADVERTISING 

     India does not have the strict truth-in-advertising laws that are found in the United States and elsewhere.  Consequently, some Indian manufacturers will label their shawls as "p*shmina" or "c*shmere," even though they are, in reality, sheep’s wool or even synthetic.  In fact, we told our Indian supplier to remove the labels sewn into a recent shipment of woolen shawls, inaccurately describing them as "pashm*na".

     At Heritage Trading, we try to be clear and accurate in our ebay descriptions.  We do not, at present, sell "p*shmina" or "cashm*re" shawls.  We DO sell beautiful shawls with jamavar (i.e., intricately woven patterns) made of sheep’s wool.  We also sell some wool-like, synthetic shawls, which are clearly described as synthetic in our listings.  And we sell some blended fabrics, which are also fully described.

     We encourage similar clarity and accuracy from all sellers.

Thanks for reading this.  We wanted you to know.