1840s Shawl

1840s Shawl
Date	1840-1850
Category	Women
Item	Shawl
Fabric	Silk and wool, woven pattern
Decoration	Fringe
Wearer	-
Maker	-
Acc. no.	HC.S-5.93-2

1840-1850 A shawl in silk and wool.

The shawl spread out
Detail of the centre of the shawl
Detail of the centre of the border on one side
Detail of a motif in the centre
Detail showing the reverse of a motif
The centre of a border on one end
Detail of the fringe gate on the reverse showing the interlocking weft threads at the junction of colour sections

Description

The warp is cream silk and the weft is wool.

The ground of the field is cream with polychrome wool making the woven pattern of exotic flowers and trailing stems which mirror round the centre.

The border has a pale blue ground, 9¾" wide at the ends and 10¼" wide at the sides, with a pattern of polychrome exotic flowers; the design changes direction at the centre of each side.

Two sides are the selvedges of the fabric with no fringe. The other two sides have a 2½" deep fringe of the silk warp threads dyed in different colours, coming from fringe gates which are in sections of corresponding colours, about 10" wide and ½" deep, and dyed at that point, probably by tie-dying. The different coloured weft threads of each section are interlocked where they meet, which is an indicator that the shawl is probably of French origin.

It is 64" long and 68" wide altogether, but the corners seem to have become stretched out.