Important Notice

KASHMIR, LATE 19TH CENTURY
Handspun and handwoven Pashmina, hand embroidered, natural dyes
Length 51.75 in (132 cm), Sleeve span 61.75 in (157 cm)

NON-EXPORTABLE


The present lot is an exquisite example of both the craft of embroidery as well as the ingenuity of the maker's skill. The deep purple ground is covered with all-over embroidery of a myriad of flowers and leaves in all shapes, sizes, and colours. Scrolling around the neckline is a border of a single vine bearing a five-petalled rosette alternating with a leaf. Around this is a narrow border bearing bunches of grapes and the chinar leaf, stretching around the entire edge of the choga including the cuffs of the sleeves.

The embroidered pattern is subtly arranged in diagonal lines, resembling the khat-rast design. Striped jamawar fabric, referred to as khat-rast - literally meaning 'straight road' - first appeared in the Kashmiri tradition in the mid-18th century. As with all shawl designs that became more complex over time, the khat-rast first emerged as narrow red and white stripes featuring small butis to more elaborate ones, such as seen in the present lot, where the stripes became broader and more varied in width and are filled with more complex designs.

Other similar works in: this auction  |  entire site