Object Note
A set of four objects with three in possession of the Zay Initiative along with (ZI2020.500783 ASIA, ZI2020.500784 ASIA, ZI2020.500785 ASIA).
Object History
This fine cashmere (pashmina) scarf/wrap (shawl) dating back to the mid-19th century was originally a part of the Dr Joan Coleman Collection. It was first purchased on July 28, 1977, at an auction in Christie’s, London, and later The Zay Initiative managed to acquire it from Kerry Taylor Auctions in 2015.
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 shawl is a rectangular piece of pashmina fabric that was woven by hand on a loom embellished with hand embroidery in yellow and violet silk thread (resham), and gold metal wire couching on a vibrant turquoise (pheroza) base, the fabric has minimal, yet intricate stylised floral designs embroidered in gold and violet. The body of the fabric is plain, except for the ornamental arabesque designs in the four corners that mirror each other and a thin arabesque border running along the inner edge of the fabric. The underside has a small rectangular piece of canvas stitched near one of the corners with a stamp reading “JUNE 27 44D1847” probably the date of acquisition and accession number by one of its previous collectors – possibly Dr Joan Coleman.
The colour and embroidery style as well as the motifs are of typical Kashmiri aesthetics. The dyes are either vegetable extracts or obtained from natural minerals.
The selvedge of the fabric has thin double-layered borders connecting with opposing wider borders on the warp ends. The entire border is stylised (Indo_Persian floral pattern) branches and leaves and roses – with four distinct branches of corner ornaments (kunjbuta) shooting diagonally from the corners towards the middle that reflects the aesthetics of both (Persian_miniature painting) and (Mughal_miniature painting). The fringes hanging on the vertical ends of the fabric are threads of warp in their original colour and act as decorative trimmings.
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
Donate