Kimkhwab, silk saree from India: what it is and how it is worn

Kimkhwab is an old Indian brocade in which silk is woven with gold and silver yarns, so the floral patterns look embroidered but are woven in. Varanasi and Surat made it famous across the Mughal Empire, and its finest qualities went to wealthy buyers.

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Hiranya, a cloth of gold, is named in the Vedas of about 1500 BC
The Persian name kimkhwab means a little dream
Varanasi and Surat kimkhwab was famed across the Mughal Empire, 1556 to 1707
Its floral patterns, like the poppy and pine, look embroidered but are woven
A piece was valued by its gold, silver or silk content and its motifs

What is Kimkhwab?

Kimkhwab is a brocade, a cloth whose pattern is woven in as the fabric is made, not added on afterwards. Its ground is silk, and gold and silver yarns run through the design, which makes the cloth thick and heavy, though weavers also produced finer qualities, made mainly for wealthy buyers. The motifs are mostly flowers, leaves and branches drawn from nature, and the weave makes them look embroidered even though every line is woven in. The name is Persian, the ornament carries an Arab-Persian flavour, and the art itself is ancient in India.

Where does Kimkhwab come from?

The cloth's story runs through several names. A cloth of gold called hiranya appears in the Vedas, dated to about 1500 BC. Under the Gupta empire, in the 4th to 6th century AD, a flower-woven cloth was known as puspapata. The name kimkhwab came from Persian. One reading makes it a little dream: no one who had not seen such cloth could even dream of it. Another ties it to kam-khwab, less sleep, because the rough metallic cloth was said to prevent sleep. The Ain-i-Akbari records mushajjar, patterned cloth, and from 1556 to 1707 the kimkhwab of Varanasi and Surat was famous across the Mughal Empire.

How is Kimkhwab made?

Kimkhwab is woven, not printed or stitched. The pattern goes into the cloth as it forms, on a tapestry weave, with silk as the ground and the design carried by gold and silver yarns. The Persian term zar-baft says it plainly: cloth of gold. Writers describe the silk as damasked, its ornament woven in with leaves and branches, and the metallic yarns make the finished piece thick and heavy. Value was reckoned by how much gold, silver or silk a cloth contained, and by its motifs. Varanasi and Surat led the work in Mughal times; Aurangabad and Paithan were also noted centres.

Kimkhwab, drawn

The cloth Field gold with silver, lotus motif. Drawn from this page, not from one saree.

Draped A sketch of the usual Nivi wrap in this saree's colours.

Brocade: a motif lifted in gold or silver zari thread, woven into the cloth rather than printed on it.

Satin weave: the warp floats over four wefts before it is caught, which gives silk its smooth, bright face.

Colours, motifs and borders

Flowers lead the pattern book. One old name, puspapata, means a cloth with woven flowers, and the designs were mostly drawn from nature: the poppy, the pine tree, leaves and branches. Because the pattern is carried by gold and silver yarns over silk, it stands out from the ground and looks embroidered, though every line is woven. Another name, mushajjar, simply means having patterns. The taste in ornament, like the name itself, carries an Arab-Persian flavour. Since a piece's worth rose with its metal content, the most valued cloths were the ones heavy with gold.

Styles of Kimkhwab

Not every kimkhwab weighed the same. The metallic yarns and dense patterning made most pieces thick, yet weavers also wove finer qualities, made especially for wealthy buyers. Worth varied too: a cloth was priced by its content of gold, silver or silk, and by the motifs it carried, so a piece rich in gold stood at the top. Production was spread across several towns, each with its own working tradition: Varanasi and Surat held the greatest fame under the Mughals, while Aurangabad and Paithan were also noted for the art.

Questions people ask about Kimkhwab

What is kimkhwab?

Kimkhwab is an ancient Indian brocade, a silk cloth woven with gold and silver yarns. The weave builds floral patterns into the fabric so they appear embroidered, though they are woven in. It was also called puspapata, a cloth with woven flowers.

Where does the name come from?

It comes from Persian. Read as kam and khwab, little and dream, it suggests no one could dream of such cloth without seeing it first. Another derivation, kam-khwab or less sleep, jokes that the rough metallic cloth prevents sleep.

Where was kimkhwab made?

The kimkhwab work of Varanasi and Surat was famous across the Mughal Empire between 1556 and 1707. Aurangabad and Paithan were also noted production centres. A finished piece was valued by its content of gold, silver or silk, and by its motifs.

How is the cloth woven?

Weavers use a tapestry weave, laying a silk ground and carrying the design in gold and silver yarns, an art known as zar-baft, making cloth of gold. The metallic yarns and dense patterns make the cloth thick, though finer qualities were also woven.

How old is the tradition?

Cloth of gold called hiranya is mentioned in the Vedas of about 1500 BC, and during the Gupta empire, from the 4th to 6th century AD, a flower-woven cloth was known as puspapata. The Persian name kimkhwab and the Mughal-era fame came later.

Good reading and sources

Encyclopaedia BritannicaArticle

Where this page comes from

The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Kimkhwab", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryPallu rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.

It may contain mistakes. Traditions, weaves and prices differ from one weaver, town or shop to the next, and it is not buying advice. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-03.

Kimkhwab