“WOVEN AIR.”
The Deccan muslins of India are among the most wonderful evidences of hand skill of the strange people of the mysterious East. These fabrics, which are spun and woven entirely by hand, and are the product of obscure and curious processes, unknown, and unattainable by the western nations, like the fabrication of Damascus steel and the making of camels hair shawls, are marvels of ingenuity and skill, and they illustrate the poetry of cotton. The most delicate of these fabrics are known by the name of “ woven air.” It can only be made in the early morning and in the evenings when the air is full of moisture and dew is on the grass. The processes by which it is woven are kept secret, and the people who do the work are compelled first to pass through a long course of training and initiation. Their delicate wares are of such ethex-eal texture as to be almost invisible, and yet they are so enduring that they will bear washing and wear in a wonderful manner. This precious stuff is monopolised for the use of the ladies of the Oriental harems, and is said to be worth hundreds of dollars per yard.
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South Canterbury Times, Issue 2180, 13 March 1880, Page 2
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202“WOVEN AIR.” South Canterbury Times, Issue 2180, 13 March 1880, Page 2
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