The distinctive muslin silk sarees

The distinctive muslin silk sarees

Figures and an Abstract

The virgins would go to the middle of the river in the early morning by floating a boat to get some humidity. They used to turn their delicate finger while holding the hand vertically on the conch or turtle’s egg to retrieve yarn. These yarns were used to create the renowned smoothest and finest fabric in the world. The material was renowned. It is possible to squeeze and fit a 50-meter length of cloth into a matchbox. The royal women were enamored with this material, which the king, emperor, and sovereign purchased for their queen in an attempt to win her love. Bangladesh’s rich and illustrious history is embodied in the world-famous fabric known as MUSLIN.

Muslin Silk Saree – Violet OW0014

Figure 1: White work embroidered on a sheer white muslin gown There is no name more renowned in textile history than Dhaka muslin. When Edward VII, the prince of Wales at the time, visited Bengal in 1875, Sir Abdul Gani of Dhaka sent him an order for thirty yards of the best muslin. This cloth weighs less than 10 ounces per yard! The term “Muslin” refers to a type of pre-colonial Bengali textile, particularly those with Dhaka roots. The Dhaka Muslin gained international recognition as a result of its well made use of locally grown cotton in the city of Dhaka and many nearby locations.

Historical context, building materials, and Muslin’s current state of affairs:

The virgins would go to the middle of the river in the early morning hours by floating their boats in order to get some humidity. They used to turn their delicate finger while holding their hand vertically on the conch or turtle’s egg to retrieve yarn. These yarns were used to create the renowned smoothest and finest fabric in the world. The material was renowned. It is possible to squeeze and fit a 50-meter length of cloth into a matchbox. The queen was given this cloth by the king, emperor, and sovereign in an attempt to win her affection. The royal ladies were enamored with the fabric. The world-famous fabric is called MUSLIN, and it represents Bangladesh’s rich and illustrious past.

Origin of the word “Muslin”:

The word’s etymology is unclear; some claim it came from Mosul, an ancient Iraqi commercial hub, while others believe it was related to Musulipattam, the former southern Indian headquarters of European trading organizations. Since the word “muslin” is neither Persian, Sanskrit, nor Bengali, it is highly likely that the Europeans gave it to cotton cloth that they imported from Mosul and other eastern countries through Mosul. Later, upon witnessing the exquisite cotton goods of Dhaka, they dubbed Dhaka fabrics with the same name. There is little question that the word “Muslin” was given by the Europeans because it was used to refer to cotton fabrics from Dhaka as well as commodities brought by the Europeans from other regions of India, such as Gujrat and Golconda.

Muslin’s Historical Context :

Bengal’s textile industry has a long history. Bengal cotton textiles were exported to the Roman and Chinese empires, and Ptolemy’s Geography and the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, as well as the writings of ancient Chinese explorers, all make reference to them. However, after the Mughal capital was established in Dhaka, Dhaka Muslin gained notoriety and drew in foreign and transmarine purchasers. The Mughal monarchs and the Mughal nobility supported Dhaka’s musselman industry. Large amounts of the best quality Muslin were acquired for the Mughal emperors, regional governors, and other nobility and high officers. Dhaka Muslin held a prominent position in the prestigious 1851 London Exhibition, drawing a sizable crowd of visitors. The British Press was particularly complimentary of Dhaka’s amazing Muslin fabrics. Various varieties of cotton used to make muslin.

Ancient Greeks traded muslin garments from Machilipatnam, an Indian port town once known as Marisol’s or Masalia. Some people think that the name Marisol’s is where the name “muslin” first appeared. The well-known explorer Marco Polo visited the Kakatiya kingdom, which included Machilipatnam, and was impressed by the quality of the muslins that could be found there. Marco Polo wrote about the cloth in his book The Travels in 1298. It was made in Mosul, Iraq, he claimed. Though the fabric in this picture is named after the city in Europe where Europeans first saw it, Mosul, it is said to have originated in Bangladesh’s current capital, Dhaka.

Therefore, it is most possible that the name “Muslin” was given to cotton material that the Europeans imported from Mosul and other eastern countries through Mosul, and that name was then applied to Dhaka garments when they saw the high-quality cotton items produced there. There is little question that the word “Muslin” was given by the Europeans because it was used to refer to cotton fabrics from Dhaka as well as commodities brought by the Europeans from other regions of India, such as Gujrat and Golconda. The material’s Bengali origins (called Ruhml in Arabic) are noted by the Arab merchant Sulaiman in the ninth century.

Phuti cotton, which was grown in specific locations along the banks of the Brahmaputra and her branches, was used to make the best variety of Muslin. The other varieties of cotton, known as bairait and desee, were of lower quality and were grown in various regions of Dhaka and its surrounding areas. They were used to make clothing that was somewhat coarse and substandard. All of the individuals involved in the cloth-making process, from the cleaner to the thread manufacturer and the weaver themselves, belonged to a family of weavers; in smaller families, two or three families would work together to produce the cloth.

Distinct varieties of Muslin :

The fabrics produced by Dhaka weavers ranged in quality from the finest texture, which was used by the emperor, viziers, nawabs, and other highly aristocratic persons, to the coarse thick wrapper that was used by the poor. Names that indicated the place of manufacture, the degree of fineness or transparency of the texture, or the purposes for which they were used as clothing were used to identify muslins. Thus, names were derived.

A few enigmatic details regarding Muslin :

Known as shama or evening dew, a single thaan (one yard wide by ten yards long) of muslin cost either Rs 40 or Rs 400 throughout the first decade of the 20th century. Dhaka muslin was cheaper than local British produce and continued to be sold in London until 1813, when it was sold for a 75 percent profit. The British slapped an 80% levy on the Indian product, fearing this competition. The introduction of machine-made yarn, which was introduced in Dhaka in 1817 at a price one-fourth that of Indian yarn, was more detrimental to the muslin trade than the tariff. One of the biggest issues Dhaka weavers had up to 1821 was getting yarn from the neighborhood spinners. The quality of this yarn varied. However, British machinery made it possible to produce yarn with a consistent texture, and the Indian handmade yarn market quickly collapsed.

Taylor wrote in 1840. The best type of Dhaka muslin had a count of 1800 threads per inch, whereas inferior kinds had a count of roughly 1400 threads per inch. The Dhaka weavers suffered despite making the most expensive fabric on the planet due to their skill. However, after thirty years, they started to lose their vision. The superfine fineness could only be weaved in the early morning or late afternoon due to the intense sunshine breaking the threads otherwise.”

The imperial court in medieval Dhaka was the exclusive recipient of the best muslin. The most well-known weavers were prohibited from creating muslin for other people and were registered as though they were employed by the royal family. Traveler Abbe Rynal said of the weavers in the seventeenth century: “It was a misfortune to appear very dexterous, because they were then forced to work only for the Government, which paid them ill and kept them in sort of captivity.”

In the days when one rupee could buy two and a half tons of rice, the weavers received such little pay that their monthly income was only one to one and a half rupees. This translates to a maximum daily wage of Rs 25 in today’s currency. An additional unsavory detail connected to the demise of this Indian sector was that some yarn producers had their thumbs and index fingers amputated by the British to hinder them from winding the finer threads needed for muslins.Top of Form

The washermen community of Dhaka was responsible for specialized duties like as washing, pressing, and polishing muslin. An intriguing detail was that conch shells were used to polish muslin, and the fabric was left unironed. The material’s ability to get finer with repeated washings served as the best test.