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Shahtoosh
Shahtoosh (from Persian شاهتوش 'king of wools'), also known as Shatoush, is a wool obtained from the fur of the chiru (''Pantholops hodgsonii'', also called Tibetan antelope). Also, shawls made from the wool of the chiru are called shahtoosh. Shahtoosh is the finest animal wool, followed by vicuña wool. As undomesticated wild animals, the chirus cannot be shorn, so they are killed for this purpose. Due to the severe decline of the chiru population by 90 % in the second half of the 20th century, they were internationally classified as a critically endangered species until 2016. Since 2016, they have been classified as a near threatened species due to species conservation programs and partial recovery of population size. The wool is mostly used to make luxurious scarves and shawls, although the production, sale, and acquisition of shahtoosh has been illegal under CITES since 1979. On the black market, shahtoosh shawls fetch prices ranging from $5,000 to $20,000. Pr ...
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Pantholops Hodgsonii (chiru) Fibre Natural Vs
The Tibetan antelope or chiru (''Pantholops hodgsonii'') (, pronounced ; ) is a medium-sized bovid native to the northeastern Tibetan plateau. Most of the population live within the Chinese border, while some scatter across India and Bhutan in the high altitude plains, hill plateau and montane valley. Fewer than 150,000 mature individuals are left in the wild, but the population is currently thought to be increasing. In 1980s and 1990s, they had become endangered due to massive illegal poaching. They are hunted for their extremely soft, light and warm underfur which is usually obtained after death. This underfur, known as ''shahtoosh'' (a Persian word meaning "king of fine wools"), is used to weave luxury shawls. Shahtoosh shawls were traditionally given as wedding gifts in India and it takes the underfur of three to five adult antelopes to make one shawl. Despite strict controls on trade of shahtoosh products and CITES listing, there is still demand for these luxury items. ...
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Vicuña Wool
Vicuña wool refers to the hair of the South American vicuña, an animal of the family of '' camelidae''. The wool has, after shahtoosh, the second smallest fiber diameter of all animal hair and is the most expensive legal wool. Properties The down hair of the vicuña used for the production of vicuña wool is, with an average hair diameter of 11–13.5 microns, one of the finest animal hairs. Only shahtoosh, the hair of the Tibetan antelope, is finer, with an average diameter of 8–13 microns.Carol Ekarius: ''The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook.'' Storey Publishing, 2011, , pp. 381–382. Among animal textile fibers, besides shahtoosh, only the various silks and byssus have a smaller fiber diameter. The surface structure of the fiber has scales as in sheep wool.Miguel Angel Gardetti: ''Handbook of Sustainable Luxury Textiles and Fashion.'' Springer, 2015, , p. 107. The scale spacing is between 7 and 14 scale rings per 100 microns.Subramanian Senthilkannan Muthu, Miguel ...
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Shawl
A shawl (from fa, شال ''shāl'',) is a simple item of clothing from Kashmir, loosely worn over the shoulders, upper body and arms, and sometimes also over the head. It is usually a rectangular or square piece of cloth, which is often folded to make a triangle, but can also be triangular in shape. Other shapes include oblong shawls. History The words "shawl" and "pashmina" come from Kashmir, the northern region of the Indian subcontinent. Sources report cashmere crafts were introduced by Sayeed Ali Hamadani who was an Iranian scholar when he came to Kashmir in the 14th century. He found that the Ladakhi Kashmiri goats produced soft wool. He took some of this goat wool and made socks which he gave as a gift to the king of Kashmir, Sultan Qutbuddin. Afterwards, Hamadani suggested to the king that they start a shawl weaving industry in Kashmir using this wool. That is how pashmina shawls began. The United Nations agency UNESCO reported in 2014 that Ali Hamadani was one of ...
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Guard Hair
Guard hair or overhair is the outer layer of hair of most mammals, which overlay the fur. Guard hairs are long and coarse and protect the rest of the pelage (fur) from abrasion and frequently from moisture. They are visible on the surface of the fur and usually lend a characteristic contour and colour pattern. Underneath the contour hair is the short, dense, fine down. There are three types of guard hair: awns, bristles, and spines.G. A. Feldhamer, J. F. Merritt, C. Krajewski, J. L. Rachlow, K. M. Stewart. ''Mammalogy: Adaptation, Diversity, Ecology. Fifth Edition.'' Johns Hopkins University Press. 2020Robert E. Martin, Ronald H. Pine, Anthony F. DeBlase. ''A Manual of Mammalogy: With Keys to Families of the World''. 3rd edition. Waveland Pr Inc. 2011D. A. Kelt, J. L. Patton. ''A Manual of the Mammalia: An Homage to Lawlor’s “Handbook to the Orders and Families of Living Mammals”.'' University of Chicago Press. 2020 Description Guard hair (overhair) is the top or outer lay ...
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Light Microscope
The optical microscope, also referred to as a light microscope, is a type of microscope that commonly uses visible light and a system of lenses to generate magnified images of small objects. Optical microscopes are the oldest design of microscope and were possibly invented in their present compound form in the 17th century. Basic optical microscopes can be very simple, although many complex designs aim to improve resolution and sample contrast. The object is placed on a stage and may be directly viewed through one or two eyepieces on the microscope. In high-power microscopes, both eyepieces typically show the same image, but with a stereo microscope, slightly different images are used to create a 3-D effect. A camera is typically used to capture the image (micrograph). The sample can be lit in a variety of ways. Transparent objects can be lit from below and solid objects can be lit with light coming through ( bright field) or around ( dark field) the objective lens. Polaris ...
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Cashmere Wool
Cashmere wool, usually simply known as cashmere, is a fiber obtained from cashmere goats, pashmina goats, and some other breeds of goat. It has been used to make yarn, textiles and clothing for hundreds of years. Cashmere is closely associated with the Kashmir shawl, the word "cashmere" deriving from an anglicisation of '' Kashmir'', when the Kashmir shawl reached Europe in the 19th century. Both the soft undercoat and the guard hairs may be used; the softer hair is reserved for textiles, while the coarse guard hair is used for brushes and other non-apparel purposes. A number of countries produce cashmere and have improved processing techniques over the years but China and Mongolia are two of the leading producers as of 2019. Afghanistan is ranked third. Some yarns and clothing marketed as containing cashmere have been found to contain little to no cashmere fiber, so more stringent testing has been requested to make sure items are fairly represented. Poor land management and ...
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Changtang
The Changtang (alternatively spelled Changthang or Qangtang) is a part of the high altitude Tibetan Plateau in western and northern Tibet extending into the southern edges of Xinjiang as well as southeastern Ladakh, India, with vast highlands and giant lakes. From eastern Ladakh, the Changtang stretches approximately east into Tibet as far as modern Qinghai. The Changtang is home to the Changpa, a nomadic Tibetan people. The two largest settlements within the Tibetan Changtang are Rutog Town the seat of Rutog County and Domar Township the seat of Shuanghu County. Climate The summers are warm but short and thunderstorms can occur at any time of year, often with hail. The winters are cold and Arctic-like, despite the latitude, due to the high elevation. History Changtang was once ruled by a culture known as the Zhangzhung, which later merged with Tibetan culture. People The people of the Changtang are nomadic pastoralists, they are known as ' Changpa', for 'northerners,' o ...
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Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest of the country at the crossroads of Central Asia and East Asia. Being the largest province-level division of China by area and the 8th-largest country subdivision in the world, Xinjiang spans over and has about 25 million inhabitants. Xinjiang borders the countries of Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. The rugged Karakoram, Kunlun and Tian Shan mountain ranges occupy much of Xinjiang's borders, as well as its western and southern regions. The Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract regions, both administered by China, are claimed by India. Xinjiang also borders the Tibet Autonomous Region and the provinces of Gansu and Qinghai. The most well-known route of the historic Silk Road ...
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Coefficient Of Variation
In probability theory and statistics, the coefficient of variation (CV), also known as relative standard deviation (RSD), is a standardized measure of dispersion of a probability distribution or frequency distribution. It is often expressed as a percentage, and is defined as the ratio of the standard deviation \sigma to the mean \mu (or its absolute value, The CV or RSD is widely used in analytical chemistry to express the precision and repeatability of an assay. It is also commonly used in fields such as engineering or physics when doing quality assurance studies and ANOVA gauge R&R, by economists and investors in economic models, and in neuroscience. Definition The coefficient of variation (CV) is defined as the ratio of the standard deviation \ \sigma to the mean \ \mu , c_ = \frac. It shows the extent of variability in relation to the mean of the population. The coefficient of variation should be computed only for data measured on scales that have a meaningfu ...
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