Handmade in India

KALEEN - KNOTTED CARPETS
Production Clusters
Baramula district
Anantnag district
Badgam district
Kupwara district
Pulwama district
Doda district
Udhampur district
Kathua district
Poonch district
Srinagar district :
Srinagar city :
Sehyar, Umar
Colony, Nowab
Bazaar, Anchar,
Nava Kadal,
Rainawari, Fateh
Kadal, Dal Areas
Products
Silk carpets
Woolen carpets
Tools
Kaleen vaan -
vertical loom
Khur - sickle
shaped blade
Panja - beater
Dukari - scissors
The Kaleen are intricately
hand knotted silk or woolen
carpets woven on a vertical
loom through a process of
wrapping a supplementary
weft around successive warps,
creating a heavy durable
fabric with a soft pile surface
of short lengths of fine wool
or silk.
Although the craft`s origin may be traced to the rule of the
emporer Zain-ul-Abadin and is derived from the Persian
carpet tradition, it has acquired a distinctly local character
through the incorporation of motifs inspired by the
indigenous flora and fauna and the use of dyed yarns to
create a unique colouristic range. The carpets also reflect
the Mughal patronage they received. The paterns depicting
fantastic animal forms and the pictorial carpets with
elaborate hunting scenes are from the period of Akbar`s rule
while the carpets with patterns of scrolling vines and highly
naturalistic plant and animal forms are the bequest of
Jehangir`s patronage. Even at that early stage, some
specifically Indian motifs were added to the craftsmen`s
vocabulary; among them the gaja-simha image or the half
lion - elephant, the elephant combat, grape clusters and
segmented blossoms.
Over time, a greater degree of stylization set in, as complicated
lattice systems were introduced as matrices for floral motifs and
the millefleur pattern with its profusion of tiny blossoms was
created. Other patterns which were inspired by the Persian
Chahar Bagh, Garden of Paradise, layout and the medallion
form were fashioned and these latter types have now come to be
identified as the quintessentially Kashmiri patterns. Carpet
weaving skills (including that of reading the talim - the pattern
chart that plots the number of knots to be woven in the same
colour) were transmitted through the ustaad - shagird, master -
apprentice system. As the apprenticeship traditionally began at
the age of six, this practice is now largely discontinued due to
the ban on child labour.
Inset : Detail of the sixteen-pointed star form of the medallion.
A medallion carpet with chothai and elliptical forms known as
chand in the central field.
A carpet with a central medallion
surrounded by a matan, field, in turn
enclosed by several borders.
A variation of he medallion carpet with
quarter medallions known as chothai at the
corners.