Muslin, a Phuti carpus cotton fabric of plain weave, was historically hand woven in the areas of Dhaka and Sonargaon in Bangladesh and exported for many centuries. The region forms the eastern part of the historic region of Bengal. The muslin trade at one time made the Ganges delta and what is now Bangladesh into one of the most prosperous parts of the world. Of all the unique elements that must come together to manufacture muslin, none is as unique as the cotton, the famous "phuti karpas", scientifically known as Gossypium arboreum var. neglecta. Dhaka muslin was immensely popular and sold across the globe for millennia. Muslin from "India" is mentioned in the book Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, authored by an anonymous Egyptian merchant around 2,000 years ago, it was appreciated by the Ancient Greeks and Romans, and the fabled fabric was the pinnacle of European fashion in the 18th and 19th century. Production ceased sometime in the late 19th century, as the Bengali muslin industry could no longer compete against cheaper British-made textiles.
A woman wearing fine Bengali muslin, c. 1789, by Francesco Renaldi.
Shawl made of Muslin in the 18th century, woven in Sonargaon, Dhaka.
Bengali muslin was associated with the power and elegance of the Mughal court in India, as shown in this 1665 depiction of princes Dara Shikoh and Sulaiman Shikoh Nimbate
Mughal Empress Nur Jahan holding a portrait of Jahangir by Bishandas in a translucent muslin gown c.1627
Muslin is a cotton fabric of plain weave. It is made in a wide range of weights from delicate sheers to coarse sheeting. It gets its name from the city of Mosul, Iraq, where it was first manufactured.
A woman in fine Bengali muslin, "Muslim Lady Reclining" by Francesco Renaldi (1789)
Woman's muslin dress c. 1855
Saida Muna Tasneem, The high commissioner of Bangladesh to the United Kingdom in a pastel green muslin Sari. The Bangladesh government declared official revival of fine Dhaka Muslin on April 2022.
Dhakai Muslin from the project "Reviving the Technology of Muslin Golden Heritage of Bangladesh" by "Bangladesh Handloom Board (BHB)" under the Ministry of Textiles and Jute of Bangladesh.