Object Note
Part of a pair along with (ZI2000.500774 EUROPE).
Object History
This elegant (long_shawl) dating back to the mid-19th century was originally one half of a pair of shawls in the Dr Joan Coleman Collection along with ZI2000.500774 EUROPE. Later The Zay Initiative managed to acquire it from Kerry Taylor Auctions in 2020.
Dr Joan Coleman began collecting shawls in 1976 and developed her lifelong passion for collecting. She was a regular at the London salesrooms of Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Phillips – three of the most outstanding auction houses of the period in the world – getting to know the dealers and learning in the process. She acquired vast knowledge and dedicated hours carefully cataloguing her ever-growing collection. She intended to loan her collection to different museums and institutions for the benefit of learning and education. Her collection is one of the largest and the finest private shawl collections to have ever graced the world with shawls ranging from Kashmir, Paisley, Edinburgh, Norwich, France, and Iran.
Object Features
This rectangular long_shawl woven in ivory, red, and (indigo) blue wool was manufactured in Paisley, Scotland c. 1850.
An elegant (kirking_shawl) this piece is primarily woven on an ivory base. The majority of the design elements are executed in indigo with sporadic splatters of red as highlights. Like most of its contemporaries, this shawl has a pair of (phala), two sets of (tanjir) and two (hashiya). The (selvedge) to selvedge weave is evidence of its (jacquard) origin.
The phala forms the most unique feature of this shawl. Instead of being composed of elongated (paisley)/(buta) and a running (jaal), this piece is filled with multiple paisleys in two different sizes, repeated all over alternately. This makes the phala look stubby and compact in comparison to other similar shawls of the time. The alternate arrangement of one big buta and a pair of small buta arranged back-to-back renders a hexagonal honeycomb effect to the phala from afar.
The phala is followed by the tanjir composed by repeating a single motif – a tilted floral buta with four sprigs of foliage sprouting from its side – flipped alternately in a straight queue. A similar pattern of the same scale is copied in the hashiya. An enlarged form of the tanjir and the hashiya runs around the body of the shawl forming a frame to its plain centre. A pair of fringed tasselled strips attached to the (warp) ends of the shawl enhances its daintiness and renders an additional touch of elegance to it.
It is important to note that long shawls of similar design distribution became fashionable during the first quarter of the 19th century in Great Britain as they provided a perfectly balanced silhouette to the high waistline, flowing skirts, and (bodice) detailing pintucks and wide puff sleeves of women’s dresses. However, by the 1850s with the widening of skirts and (crinolines) frames, these shawls became even more popular as it was difficult to wear a jacket or a coat. This resulted in the inclusion of at least one such shawl in the wedding trousseau of every lady from the aristocracy thus giving rise to the term (kirking_shawl) especially in Scotland as they were worn to the kirk or church on the first Sunday after the wedding and then again at christenings of children.
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