Russia · Textile / Fine Lace Knitting
Оренбургский платок (Orenburgsky platok)
A knitted lace shawl tradition of the Orenburg steppe, developed in the second half of the 18th century by combining a warming Kalmyk goat-fleece undergarment with Ural Cossack fine lace technique, worked from down hair so exceptionally fine — the thinnest in the world at 14 to 18 micrometers — that a finished shawl, though large, can be drawn entirely through a wedding ring, a feat of both fiber and knitting skill that has given the piece its popular English name.
Risk level: Endangered · Not currently inscribed on a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list under this specific technique; Russia ratified the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2006 and could nominate this technique in the future.
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