INDIA C. 1840 - Lot 249

INDIA C. 1840 Patchwork-style cashmere pashmina shawl, composed of several parts woven separately and then sewn together. The gallery is made up of large, elongated boteh that criss-cross each other; within these are superimposed ramifications into which tiny floral motifs are inserted. The colors of the gallery are dominated by red-orange tones, enhanced by touches of black to emphasize the contours, and enriched by blue, green, yellow and white particles. The boteh are sometimes outlined with sharp contours, sometimes delimited by short, interrupted segments. Each part of the drawing is executed with great care and finesse, both in the tracing and in the harmonious, brilliant blending of colors. The square black center features four large mirhab (niches) and lobed motifs at the corners, accented with multicolored threads. Four slender curved oriental palmettes extend towards the center and contain an oriental inscription. The rising borders are adorned with flowers and palmettes in green and blue tones; the transverse borders are in the gallery's red tones. On one of the latter borders appears another non-decipherable inscription. The end borders (in the direction of the weft) are hemmed and composed of rectangles in yellow, white, black, green, red, burgundy and blue, arranged diagonally in wool. The side bangs are made of a thin "1907" yellow ribbon in blue silk. An embroidered silk inscription "1907" appears on one edge. Condition: damage to the reserve, small holes and tears. Dry-cleaned. Provenance: once owned by the Edmondo De Amicis family. The date on the border cannot be that of the execution. It is plausible that it was restored in 1907. The shawl was appraised at £30,000 in 1930. Restored in 2004 Dimensions: 192 × 198 cm