Important Notice

KASHMIR, MID 19TH CENTURY
Handspun and handwoven Pashmina, natural dyes
52.25 x 86.5 in (133 x 220 cm)

NON-EXPORTABLE


This elaborately patterned shawl with a flamboyant design circling the body in a continuous oval is probably the creation of a French designer. Art historians are of the opinion that this shawl may have been given as a tribute to Maharaja Ranjit Singh. By the mid-19th century, shawl patterns had become more extravagant and fanciful, the colour palette more varied, as artists pushed the boundaries of traditional designs. Some of this was influenced by European taste, some by the weaver's creativity.

The present lot is a good example of the dazzling workmanship of that period, and is possibly designed by a European and intended for his home market. The familiar wide borders seen on other shawls of this period are subtlely transformed into a pair of butas that stretch almost halfway across the body of the shawl. The butas themselves are elongated and slender with stylised swan-like necks, which were prevalent in shawls from the first part of the 19th century. Flowering plants create an unbroken oval on a white background at the centre; this is bordered by a wave-like pattern suggesting a sense of movement to otherwise static fabric. The black field at the centre of the shawl is barely discernible, with the tops of the butas breaking through it. The white stands out against the other more muted palette of purple, green, blue and orange. Similar colours can be seen in the multi-coloured harlequin fringe tabs that are stitched on to two ends.

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