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Long Shawl

c. 1849-1855
Artist/maker unknown, Indian
Although the design of the center of this Indian shawl is bilaterally symmetrical, the rest of its pattern pivots 180 degrees around a central point, a French innovation of 1849. French influence is also seen in the invasion of plantlike forms in the outer horizontal borders, a favored decorative scheme for mid-nineteenth-century shawls. The vertical borders have a distinctive color and a stiff, sandy texture that suggests they were made in Sealkot, an Indian town that specialized in weaving vertical shawl borders.

Object Details

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