Woman's Long Shawl

1870s

Wool and cotton, warp threads dyed in multiple colors prior to weaving; center of warp-float faced 1:2 'Z' twill weave; patterned areas of two layers, plain weave and plain weave with seven-color complementary wefts, floats trimmed on reverse; knotted main warp fringe; woven on loom with Jacquard attachment; two selvages present

359.4 × 158.8 cm (141.5 × 62.5 in)

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

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 and the designs were arguably less refined than the original Kashmir garments.

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