Since ancient times the weavers of the region have produced colourful fabrics of silk and cotton. The hand-woven cotton cloth like khaddar of Kamalia, are popular. The cloth woven on handlooms is either block printed or beautifully embroidered. Multan is famous for beautiful hand-woven bed covers.
The crafts in the Punjab are of two types: the crafts produced in the rural areas and the royal crafts which flourished in the urban centers particularly in Lahore. The former include cotton textiles, basketry, embroidery etc. while the latter are tile and woodwork skills, ivory, silver and gold work, naqqashi and architectural crafts.
Hand knotted carpets of fine quality are made in Punjab since the Mughal period. Emperor Akbar in the 15th century established the first factory in Lahore. While carpets were made for the rich, rough rugs (known as namdas) were made by the common people for their own use. Lahore is the center of hand-made carpets.
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