Shawl, anonymous, c. 1800
Weaving cashmere shawls was a labour-intensive process. To make a shawl of this width, about 3000 warp threads were attached to a loom. For finer shawls, this could run up to 4800 threads. The weaver moved the weft thread with a wooden shuttle alternately over two warp threads, then under two others. This yielded a shawl that was supple, lightweight and almost silky to the touch.