Tuesday, May 31, 2011

The Rarest Silk


The silk we are all familiar with, is made from the cocoons of the silkworm Bombyx mori, which feeds on the leaves of the mulberry. But the rare silk called Muga silk of Assam, is made using the cocoons of the silkworm Anthera assamensis, which are endemic to Assam , in Northeast India. These cocoons feed on the leaves of the Som tree which is found in the forest of that state. The silk is a natural golden colour, which cannot be dyed or bleached.
We saw the handlooms of Muga silk in Sialkuchi, a small town in Assam, where the weavers weave intricate designs in the silk. You cn see the golden muga threads in the loom.

6 comments:

  1. What an interesting and informative post for the day! Great captures as well! Hope your week is off to a great start! Enjoy!

    Sylvia

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  2. How unique! I think it will make a very pretty dress.

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  3. Wow, your bamboo photo is fabulous!

    Silk industry was one of Japan’s key industries in the past. We learned how the silk was made at school. The industry got on the verge of collapse for a while, and maybe now coming back little by little.

    I've been unable to post a comment with my Google Account, I'll try with URL and name.

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  4. Such lovely material! Love the photos.

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  5. Wonderful info on Assam's silk. This is on my must-see list! The woven patterns on the loom (first photo) look beautiful!

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