Seven Handicrafts Of Jammu And Kashmir Every Traveller Should Know

Jammu and Kashmir has been a crossroads of craft for centuries, shaped by old Central Asian trade routes and by rulers such as Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin, who invited Persian and Central Asian artisans to the valley in the fifteenth century. That inheritance survives in workshops across Srinagar's old city, in villages such as Kanihama, and in the markets of Jammu. Several of these crafts now carry Geographical Indication (GI) status, a legal tag protecting authentic, region specific products from machine made imitations. Here are seven handicrafts of Jammu and Kashmir worth knowing before you visit or shop.

Pashmina

Pashmina is the fine wool combed from the undercoat of the Changthangi goat, native to the Changthang plateau in Ladakh at altitudes above 14,000 feet. Each goat yields only around 80 to 170 grams of usable wool a year, shed naturally in spring and combed away by herders rather than sheared. The fibre travels to Kashmir, where it is hand spun on a charkha and handwoven into shawls valued for softness and warmth. Genuine pashmina measures roughly 12 to 16 microns, fine enough that a shawl can pass through a wedding ring. Kashmir Pashmina has held GI status since 2008, so check for the tag before buying, since blends of wool and synthetic fibre are often sold under the same name.

Kani Shawls

Kani shawls are woven rather than embroidered, using small eyeless wooden bobbins called kanis. They help interlock coloured thread directly on the loom, so the pattern reads the same on both sides. The technique takes its name from Kanihama, a village near Srinagar, and is believed to have arrived in the fifteenth century with Persian weavers. A master designer works out the pattern using a coded system called talim, which the weaver follows while handling dozens of kanis at once. And so, a shawl can take between six months and three years to finish. Kani shawls hold their own Geographical Indication registration, separate from pashmina, with a QR code system introduced in 2024 to verify origin.

Sozni Embroidery

Sozni, from the Persian word sozan meaning needle, is a fine hand embroidery worked in silk or wool thread onto pashmina. Kashmiri tradition credits its arrival to the fourteenth-century Sufi scholar Mir Syed Ali Hamdani, whose entourage of artisans is said to have introduced the craft to the valley. A naqash, or designer, sketches motifs such as chinar leaves and paisleys onto the cloth, before a sozankar embroiders them by hand with a needle fine enough to fit five to five hundred stitches into a centimetre. What sets Sozni apart is the dorukha technique, where the design looks equally finished on both sides. A single piece can take months to finish.

Walnut Wood Carving

Kashmir is among the few places in the world where walnut trees grow at altitudes of 5,500 to 7,500 feet, and wood from mature trees, some over a century old, is carved by hand into furniture, panels and decorative pieces. The craft is believed to have been introduced in the fifteenth century by Sheikh Hamza Makhdoom, developing under royal patronage before spreading to shrines and grand houses. Artisans work in several styles, including deep relief carving for floral and dragon motifs, open lattice or jali work with chinar leaf patterns, and shallow carving for flat panels. Kashmir Walnut Wood Carving received Geographical Indication status in 2012.

Paper Mâché

Known locally as kar-i-kalamdani, or the work of the pen case, Kashmiri paper mâché is thought to have reached the valley from Central Asia under Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin. The process begins with waste paper soaked for about a week, pounded into pulp and mixed with rice starch, then pressed into wooden or brass moulds to form a box, bowl or ornament. Once dry, the piece passes to a naqash, or painter, who hand paints motifs from Kashmiri gardens, such as roses and chinar leaves, sometimes finished with gold leaf and lacquer. The craft has historically involved two groups of artisans, the sakhtasaz who shape the object and the naqash who paint it. It now carries Geographical Indication protection.

Copper Work

Known in Kashmir as kandkari, copperware has been part of the region's material culture since the medieval period, and old markets such as Zaina Kadal in Srinagar remain centres of the craft. Items including the samovar, a tea kettle believed to have reached Kashmir via Iran, along with trays and the traami dishes used at wedding feasts, are shaped from copper sheets and hand engraved using naqashi, a technique in which floral and calligraphic patterns are cut with a hammer and chisel. Several artisans typically work on one piece, a coppersmith to shape it and a naqash to engrave it, before a gilder and polisher finish it. Kashmiri copperware now holds Geographical Indication status.

Dogra Jewellery

Rooted in the traditions of Jammu's Dogra community, this jewellery includes ornaments such as the haar, a layered necklace, the gokhru, a heavy bracelet, jhumkas and balis for the ears, and the mathapatti worn across the forehead. Traditionally worked in gold and silver, these pieces were worn at weddings and festivals and formed part of a Dogra woman's personal wealth and identity, with some carrying symbolic meaning tied to marital status. Historic examples are held at the Dogra Art Museum in Jammu, and jewellers in the city continue to produce Dogri designs, particularly jhumkas, for weddings and festive occasions.

Together, these crafts trace the story of Jammu and Kashmir through wool, wood, paper, metal and thread, shaped over centuries by trade, royal patronage and generations of artisans. Many are still practised in small workshops across Srinagar's old city and in villages such as Kanihama, where visitors can watch a piece take shape by hand. Since machine made and imported imitations are common in the market, buying pieces with a Geographical Indication tag, or sourcing directly from registered artisans and government craft emporiums, remains the most reliable way to bring home an authentic piece while supporting the artisans who keep these traditions alive.

FAQs