About our Dubis

Kashmiri papier-mâché is a handicraft of Kashmir that was brought by Muslim Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani from Persia in the 14th century to medieval India. Mir Syed Ali Hamdani, a Sufi mystic, also known as Shah-i-Hamdan, was also instrumental on converting people in Kashmir to Islam.

Kashmiri papier-mâché is based primarily on paper pulp, which is made from recycled paper which has been immersed in water for 4-5 weeks, dried and moulded.

It is a richly decorated, colourful artifact; generally in the form of vases, bowls, or cups, boxes, trays, bases of lamps, and many other small objects.

With new technologies and manufacturing techniques, the art of paper papier-mâché is slowly dying. Which is why we have chosen to continue support the ethnic minority artisans in the traditional hand made method.

All of our dubis, (urdu: for small box), are handmade and handpainted using the traditional Kashmiri papier-mâché method.


PIC: Al Jazeera