The Kashmiri shawl is rooted in a complex craft tradition that goes back at least five hundred years. Its uniqueness lies in a combination of factors that have made it virtually impossible to duplicate anywhere else. Imitations have abounded for centuries, but none has succeeded in producting the inimitable delicacy of warp and weft, of material and design that comprise the legendary beauty of the  jamavar shawl. Enduring as a design classic that has grown out of an indelible local aesthetic, the shawl's appeal lies in its ability to represent continuity as well as change.
The Kashmiri Shawl is the story of this textile re-told through the prism of a South Asian perspective. The book realigns the design symbolism and technical evolution of the shawl to indigenous sources by emphasizing areas previously ignored in earlier histories. The shawl's origins in Kashmir, the rich vein of patronage it thrived on, its changing ornamental face, its regional variations in Persia and Punjab, its enormous impact on European imagination, all combine to form a narrative shaped to engage both the general reader and the specialist.