Indian Sunn Hemp Papers

Made by Hussein Kagzi in Rajasthan, these are rare Islamic papers from perhaps the very last traditional Kagzi papermaker still working in India. The papers are made from sunn hemp fibre on a chapri paper mould made from grass stems strung together in a matting. This imparts to the sheet a distinctive laid pattern. 

All the natural dyed sunn hemp papers are dyed by applying color onto the sheet with a grass stem brush, not beater dyed.
All colored sheets are from traditional vegetable sources, the indigo if from the indigo plant. Sheets are burnished by rubbing with a smooth stone.

Sunn Hemp from Recycled Hemp Fibre is a traditional Islamic paper from North India made from a mix of raw sunn hemp and recycled sunn hemp. Sheets are dried on a plaster wall and the surface is sized with wheat starch.  The paper is pressed between zinc sheets for a smooth surface.
Sunn Hemp from Raw Fibre is similar to Recycled Hemp but made entirely of raw sunn hemp and burnished by rubbing on a curved block of wood with a smooth stone.

Sheet size: 13" x 17" 
Weight: Fiber papers are 90gsm, 
Vegetable Dyed papers are 100gsm


Samples of these papers can be found on our Khadi Sample Book.