Object History
This delicate silk scarf dates back to the early-19th century and was originally a part of the Dr Joan Coleman Collection. It was first purchased at an auction in Christie’s, London, and 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 salerooms 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 is an almost square piece of ivory silk fabric with a polychromatic woven scroll border running along its four edges. The border has paisley and floral motifs in vivid colours ranging from several shades of coral to blue and yellow. It is almost a square piece – a scarf – possibly used to cover the head.
Although long shawls were fashionable at the beginning of the 19th century by the middle of the century, wider skirts in European fashion encouraged larger square shawls with borders and grouped designs which encroached into the centres. Skillful needlework and stitching arranged borders for one corner to be folded diagonally to fit into the opposite side, thus making a V shape on the back of the wearer.
Made of silk satin possibly from silk produced from the larvae of Antheraea (tussar), the only embellishment this scarf offers are its intricately designed borders. The borders are woven on a jacquard loom in satin and wool and then stitched to the base fabric. The floral and paisley motifs in ornate style are evidence of the Oriental influence in Europe, especially in Great Britain. However, the colours of threads used reflect a very European aesthetic. The embroidery is done by hand in various shades of red, bright yellow, and (cobalt_blue) is evidence of the same.
Links:
- Kerry Taylor Auctions – https://www.kerrytaylorauctions.com
- Christie’s – https://www.christies.com
- Sotheby’s – https://www.sothebys.com/en/
- Phillips – https://www.phillips.com
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