By the 17th century, Bengali muslin was associated with the power and elegance of the Mughal court in India, as shown in this 1665 depiction of princes Dara Shikoh and Sulaiman Shikoh Nimbate. The production process for Dhaka muslinwas spectacularly demanding from beginning to end. The cotton plant itself, phuti karpas ( Gossypium arboreum var. neglecta), not only was unique to the area, but also only grew, as the British Commercial Resident in Dhaka James Taylor wrote in 1800, in “a tract of land … twelve miles southeast of Dacca, along the banks of the Meghna.” and varieties of mulmul ( Mulboos khas, Jhuna, Sarkar ali, Sarbati, Tarindam) [33] were among the most delicate cotton muslins produced in the Indian subcontinent. [34] [35] [36] At its peak, muslin was on display at the French court where, at the close of the 18th century, Empress Josephine’s muslin dresses set the course for the Empire Line style in France and later in Regency-era Britain. That style centered around muslin, since only “filmy muslin,” wrote Christine Kortsch, author of Dress Culture in Late Victorian Women’s Fiction, “clung Greek-like to the body … and no color would do but white.”

Ashmore, Sonia (1 October 2018). "Handcraft as luxury in Bangladesh: Weaving jamdani in the twenty-first century". International Journal of Fashion Studies. 5 (2): 389–397. doi: 10.1386/infs.5.2.389_7. S2CID 166980808. Muslins were originally made of cotton only. These were very thin, transparent, delicate and feather light breathable fabrics. There could be 1000–1800 yarns in warp and weigh 3.8oz (110g) for 1yd ×10yd (0.91m ×9.14m). Some varieties of muslin were so thin that they could even pass through the aperture of a lady finger-ring. [17] [18] [19] Transparency [ edit ] Burnell, Arthur Coke (15 May 2017). The Voyage of John Huyghen van Linschoten to the East Indies: From the Old English Translation of 1598. The First Book, containing his Description of the East. In Two Volumes Volume I. Taylor & Francis. p.60. ISBN 978-1-317-01231-3. Eaton, Richard Maxwell (1996). The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760. University of California Press. p.202. ISBN 978-0-520-20507-9.Certain delicate muslins were given poetic names such as Baft Hawa ("woven air"), Shabnam ("evening dew"), and āb-i-ravān ("flowing water"). The latter name refers to a fine and transparent variety of fine muslin from Dacca. [22] The fabric's characteristics are summed up in its name. [23] [24] Types [ edit ] a b Bolts, William (1772). Considerations on India affairs: particularly respecting the present state of Bengal and its dependencies. Printed for J. Almon. pp.194–195. Sinha, Narendra Krishna (1961). The Economic History of Bengal from Plassey to the Permanent Settlement. Firma K. L. Mukhopadhyay. p.177. Even the seeds for the next planting season were specially treated to keep them ready to germinate. After being carefully selected and dried in the sun, they were put in an earthen pot in which ghee (clarified butter) had been kept. Its mouth was sealed airtight, then it was hung from the ceiling of the hut at the height of an average individual over the kitchen fire to keep it moderately warm. Islam, Khademul (May–June 2016). "Our Story of Dhaka Muslin". Aramco World. Vol.67, no.3. pp.26–32. OCLC 895830331.

Karim, Abdul (2012). "Muslin". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Seconded.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Drik, partnering with the National Museum and Aarong (the crafts division of brac, the globally known ngo based in Bangladesh), capped its efforts by recreating a fabric close to the muslin of old: “New Age Muslin.” It has located a plant that could be the phuti karpas . “We will know for sure,” he said, “once the complex lab tests are done.” It was also gratifying, he said, “to see the general rise in the public awareness of the extent to which muslin is part of Bangladesh’s heritage and history.” But “it is now up to Bangladesh, its government and people, to take it forward.” Montgomery, Florence M. (1984). Textiles in America 1650–1870: a dictionary based on original documents, prints and paintings, commercial records, American merchants' papers, shopkeepers' advertisements, and pattern books with original swatches of cloth. New York; London: Norton. p.143. ISBN 978-0-393-01703-8– via Internet Archive.

Scrabble Tools

Mull is another kind of muslin. It is a soft, thin, and semitransparent material. The name is derived from Hindi "mal" which means "soft". Swiss mull is a type of which is finished with stiffening agents. [37] Decline under Company rule [ edit ] Berger, C.; Hartmann, M.; Wildemann, B. (March 2003). "Progressive visual loss due to a muslinoma – report of a case and review of the literature". European Journal of Neurology. 10 (2): 153–158. doi: 10.1046/j.1468-1331.2003.00546.x. PMID 12603290. S2CID 883414. And yet, hanging airily from the ceiling at the exhibition, there was a freshly woven length of transparent cotton labeled, “New Age Muslin.” The word “muslin” is popularly believed to derive from Marco Polo’s description of the cotton trade in Mosul, Iraq. (The Bengali term is mul mul.) A more modern view is that of fashion historian Susan Greene, who wrote that the name arose in the 18th century from mousse, the French word for “foam.”

Fourth-generation cotton farmer Mohammad Nasim, of Gazipur, Bangladesh. Although Bangladesh is today a major exporter of ready-made cotton clothing, since the colonial era it has imported all but a fraction of the industry’s cotton. Jamdani recognised as intangible cultural heritage by Unesco". The Daily Star. 5 December 2013 . Retrieved 5 December 2013.Although muslin weaving is nearly non-existent today, pit-loom workshops such as this one in Sonargaon, near Dhaka, continue to produce jamdani saris, which most likely take their name from Persian words meaning a vase of flowers. Delicate yet far less fine than true muslin, jamdani is made by weavers who have kept alive the tradition of fine weaving in Bangladesh. Really pleased with the curtains and have had loads of compliments! Will definitely be a returning customer! Riello, Giorgio; Parthasarathi, Prasannan, eds. (2011). The Spinning World: A Global History of Cotton Textiles, 1200–1850. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-969616-1.