Fabric
Category
Textiles
Date
Unknown
Materials
Linen
Measurements
550 mm (Width); 2490 mm (Length)
Order this imageCollection
Llanerchaeron, Ceredigion
NT 548932
Summary
Woven Kashmir Pattern Shawl Circa 1860s Woven goat-hair (pashmina) and wool This shawl was probably made in the 19th century for the European market. The trim is likely to be from India originally and appears to have been woven in small sections and sewn together with very fine, almost invisible hand stitching. The fineness and softness of the material suggest that the trim may be pashmina. This has then been attached to a length of red wool textile which is rougher and less fine in quality. The Kashmir shawl is named for its distinctive ‘Kashmiri’ weave, a technique of passing a weft thread over-and-under two warp threads and is made from fine pashmina (Changthangi cashmere goat) or shahtoosh (Tibetan antelope) wool. It has a history that predates the 13th century in India, originally being a textile worn by men; the fineness of the weave and design denoting the social status of the wearer. The style developed and was exported to Europe and the United States over centuries, being copied and adapted for new markets. In our own times, ‘cashmere’ and ‘pashmina’ shawls are terms that denote luxury and quality, owing their origins to the fine Kashmir shawls of northern India. .
Provenance
An item from the Pamela Ward collection, left to the National Trust in the will of Miss Ward in 1994