Woman's Long Shawl
1820s
Medium
Silk, cotton, and wool, warp-float faced 3:1 'S' twill weave with supplementary patterning wefts bound in weft-float faced 1:3 'S' twill interlacings; attached side borders of 2:2, 2:2, 1:3, 2:2...'Z' composite twill weaves with supplementary patterning wefts bound in weft-float faced 1:3 'Z' twill interlacings; main warp fringe; woven on loom with Jacquard attachment
Dimensions
264.2 × 124.2 cm (104 × 48 7/8 in.); Center repeat: 12.7 × 14.5 cm (5 × 5 3/4 in.)
Classification
textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
93956
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
These boldly patterned shawls illustrate the broad appeal of the buta, or paisley, pattern. The Jacquard mechanism, a patterning technology introduced in the first decade of the 1800s, enabled European manufacturers to create increasingly complex variations on the paisley motif. Although this technology allowed for faster weaving, European companies never successfully reproduced the delicacy of the hand-woven shawls from Kashmir. British- and French-made shawls tended to be thicker and heavier a...
About the Artist
Unknown
The artist designated as "Unknown" in our virtual museum's collection exemplifies a poignant chapter in art history: creators whose identities have faded into obscurity despite the enduring power of their work. With only one known artwork attributed to them in our holdings, this figure represents countless anonymous hands that shaped visual culture across centuries. Museums worldwide, including th...