With the
exception of occasional specimens of these shawls, which, however, can be
bought cheaper at sales in London, there are no _old_ embroideries to be
got.
The wood-carving industry, too, is quite modern; but, although of great
excellence and ingenuity in manipulation, it does not appeal to me, being
too florid and copious in its application of design. A restless confusion
of dragons from Leh, lotus from the Dal Lake, and the ever-present chenar
leaf, hobnob together with British--very British--crests and monograms on
the tops of tables and the seats of chairs--portions of the furniture that
should be left severely plain.
British taste is usually bad, and to it, and not to Kashmiri initiative,
must be ascribed the production of such exotic works as bellows
embellished with chaste designs of lotus-buds, and afternoon tea-tables
flaunting coats-of-arms (doubtless dating from the Conquest), beautifully
carved in high relief just where the tray--the bottom of which is probably
ornamented with a flowing design of raised flowers--should rest!
The lacquered papier-mache work--often extremely pretty when left to its
own proper Cabul pattern or other native design--aims too often at
attracting the eye of the mighty hunter by introducing an inappropriate
markhor's head. The old lacquer-work is difficult to get, and, when
obtained, is high in price; but comparison between the old and the new
shows the gulf that lies between the loving and skilful labour of the
artist and the stupid and generally "scamped" achievement of him who
merely "knocks off" candlesticks and tobacco-boxes by the score, to sell
to the English visitor--papier-mache being superseded by wood, and lacquer
by paint.
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