Khasa (cloth)

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Khasa (Cossa, Cossaes)[1] was a high-quality variety of calico cloth that was manufactured and used for clothing in the Mughal Empire.

Name[edit]

Khasa or khāṣṣa means special.[1] Khasa was termed “kashak” in the Ain-i-Akbari, and was also known as 'jangal klasa' for its fine close weave.[2] Khasa is one of seven cotton cloths named in the Ain-i-Akbari.[3]

Features[edit]

Khasa was a cotton fabric softer than longcloth and more closely woven than muslin.[4][5] It is described as having been soft and closely woven, with a fine texture.[2] In the 16th-century emperor Akbar's time, khasa was considered to be one of the best and most expensive types of cotton cloth.[6][7] It was commonly used for turbans in the Mughal era.[8]

Dimensions[edit]

Khasa, like other piece goods, were produced with specific dimensions; regular khasas were having dimensions of 20 x 1 or 1.5 yards. The number of threads was in warp direction were 1400–2800 with the weight of 595 grams /pc (with 2800 threads).[9]

Production centers[edit]

Khasa made in Sonargaon was considered to be of particularly high quality.[2] It was also produced in Dacca, Malda, Santipore and Cossimbazar.[10] “Rahon Khasa” was cloth produced at the town of Rahon in Punjab.[11]

Exports[edit]

Thomas Bowrey, an English merchant and mariner in the East Indies trade in the late 17th century,[12] described Khasa as a kind of muslin that was the cloth most commonly exported from Dhaka.[13]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Kumar, Raj (2008). Encyclopaedia of Untouchables Ancient, Medieval and Modern. Gyan Publishing House. p. 222. ISBN 978-81-7835-664-8.
  2. ^ a b c S. B. Chakrabarti, Ranjit Kumar Bhattacharya (2002). Indian Artisans: Social Institutions and Cultural Values. Anthropological Survey of India, Government of India, Ministry of Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports, Department of Culture. p. 87. ISBN 9788185579566.
  3. ^ Sangar, S. P. (1965). "FEMALE COSTUMES IN THE SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES (as reflected in the contemporary Hindi literature)". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 27: 243–247. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44140630.
  4. ^ Pawar, Appasaheb Ganapatrao (1971). Maratha History Seminar. Shivaji University. p. 52.
  5. ^ Tortora, Phyllis G.; Johnson, Ingrid (2013). The Fairchild Books Dictionary of Textiles. p. 327. ISBN 9781609015350.
  6. ^ Jain, Simmi (2003). Encyclopaedia of Indian Women Through the Ages: The middle ages. Kalpaz Publications. p. 197. ISBN 9788178351735.
  7. ^ دكتور محمد نصر. Fashion And Designing Under The Mughals Akbar To Aurangzeb. A Historical Perspective.
  8. ^ Panjab University Research Bulletin: Arts - Volume 14, Issue 2 - Page 23
  9. ^ Chaudhury, Sushil (2020-03-10). Spinning Yarns: Bengal Textile Industry in the Backdrop of John Taylor's Report on 'Dacca Cloth Production' (1801). Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-07920-3.
  10. ^ Das, S.N. (2002). The Bengalis. Cosmo Publications. p. 57. ISBN 9788177553925.
  11. ^ Tierney Aitchison, James Edward (1874). Hand-book of the Trade Products of Leh, with the Statistics. Wyman. p. 128.
  12. ^ Paul, Sue (2020). Jeopardy of Every Wind: The Biography of Captain Thomas Bowrey. Melton Mowbray: Dollarbird. ISBN 9781912049622.
  13. ^ Chaudhury, Sushil (2020-03-10). Spinning Yarns: Bengal Textile Industry in the Backdrop of John Taylor's Report on 'Dacca Cloth Production' (1801). Routledge. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-000-07920-3.


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