Ivory Silk Square Shawl – Norwich

Object Note

Part of a pair of shawls in the Dr Joan Coleman Collection alongside (ZI2021.500952.4 EUROPE). 

Object History

This Ivory square (Norwich_shawl) dating back to the first quarter of the 19th century was originally a part of the Dr Joan Coleman Collection. It was paired with (ZI2021.500952.4 EUROPE) as a set in the collection. The Zay Initiative managed to acquire it from Kerry Taylor Auctions in 2021.   

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 ever graced the world with shawls ranging from Kashmir, Paisley, Edinburgh, Norwich, France, and Iran.  

Object Features 

This square ivory silk shawl probably from Norwich dates back to c. 1800-10. It has a plain central silk ground woven on a (draw_loom) and a border separately woven in colourful wool attached to the body with the help of machine stitches. 

The most prominent feature of this piece is its simplicity. A border densely decorated with floral arrangements woven in light blue, (turquoise)/(pheroza), pink, scarlet red, and black encased between two thin rows of diamond-shaped repeats in turquoise and scarlet alternately enhances its elegance.  

All four sides of the piece are embellished with knotted (quadrille) threads in ivory hanging loose in a series of fringes. There are quite a few signs of wear and tear especially on and around the borders bearing testament to its age and use. 

Links

• Irwin, John. The Kashmir Shawls. Her Majesty’s Stationary Office, 1981. 

• Clabburn, Pamela. Norfolk Museum’s Service Information Sheet : Norwich Shawls. 1987th ed., Norfolk Museum, 1987, http://www.ctacostume.org.uk/uploads/1/1/9/5/119530260/nms_norwich_shawls_info_sheet_1987_compressed__1_.pdf 

• Thornton, Zita. “The Norwich Shawl.” Antiques Info, vol. 4, 2001, http://www.antiques-info.co.uk/new/pdf/Mar01/4.pdf 

• Hoyet, Helen, “The Story of Norwich Shawls: Norwich Museums Shawls Collection”, https://www.ctacostume.org.uk/norwich-shawls.html 

• Hoyt, Helen, et al. “Norwich Shawl.” Costume and Textile Association: Miscellany, 2016, https://www.ctacostume.org.uk/uploads/1/1/9/5/119530260/miscellany_2016_web__1_.pdf 

• Skarratt, Ben. “From India to Europe: The Production of the Kashmir Shawl and the Spread of the Paisley Motif.” Global History of Capitalism, University of Oxford, 2018, https://globalcapitalism.history.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/globalcapitalism/documents/media/case_04_-_the_paisley_0.pdf 

• “Wrapped in Centuries of Tradition & Culture: The Shawls of Kashmir in European Portrait.” The Heritage Lab: Culture, Art, Museums, 9 Jan. 2019, www.theheritagelab.in/kashmir-shawls-european-portraits/ 

• Sethi, Ritu. Handmade for the 21st Century: Safeguarding Traditional Indian Textiles. UNESCO, 2022. 

• Quaile, Sheilagh Dr. “Cashmere Shawls.” Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-asia/south-asia/x97ec695a:1500-1850-deccan-south/a/cashmere-shawls 

• Van Schoor, Jennifer Ann (2019) The Indian cashmere shawl and social status in British art, 1760-1870. [Thesis] (Unpublished) https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/40406/1/VAN%20SCHOOR%20J.A.%20–%20PHD%202019-vol%201.pdf 

• Andrew Newey, “Cashmere Country: The Perils of Making the World’s Finest Fabric,” The Guardian (10 January 2020), https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/10/cashmere-country-the-perils-of-making-the-worlds-finest-fabric 

• Maskiell, Michelle. “Consuming Kashmir: Shawls and Empires, 1500-2000.” Journal of World History, vol. 13, no. 1, 2002, https://www.jstor.org/stable/20078943 

• Zutshi, Chitralekha. “Designed for Eternity: Kashmiri Shawls, Empire, and Cultures of Production and Consumption in Mid-Victorian Britain.” The Journal of British Studies, vol. 48, no. 2, 2009,https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-british-studies/article/abs/designed-for-eternity-kashmiri-shawls-empire-and-cultures-of-production-and-consumption-in-midvictorian-britain/8BC637E16F9C0009A4A8097114FC630F 

• “Norwich Shawls: Once Ahead of the Game!” Norfolk Tales, Myths and More, 30 Mar. 2019, https://norfolktalesmyths.com/2019/03/30/norwich-shawls-once-ahead-of-the-game/ 

• “NORWICH WEAVING 1750 -1900.” Paul Harley, 22 May 2019, https://paulharley.wordpress.com/category/norwich-shawls/ 

• https://www.gutenberg.org/files/64006/64006-h/64006-h.htm 

• Collecting Guides: Kashmir Shawls, Christie’s, https://www.christies.com/features/Collecting-Guide-Kashmir-Shawls-9890-1.aspx 

• A Moon Shawl (Chandar), Christie’s, https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/important-private-collection-kashmir-shawls/moon-shawl-chandar-7/71406 

• A Double Sided Long Shawl (Dorukha), Christie’s, https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/important-private-collection-kashmir-shawls/double-sided-long-shawl-doruka-1/71402 

• A Kashmir Paisley Shawl, Christie’s, https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/collection-paul-f-walter/kashmir-paisley-shawl-616/46985 

• Eastaugh, Nicky. “Norwich Shawls: Past Glory, Present Inspiration.” Nicky Eastaugh’s Learning Log for Textiles, 14 Oct. 2016, nickyeastaughmixedmediafortextiles.wordpress.com/2016/10/19/norwich-shawls-past-glory-present-inspiration-14-october-2016/.