A rare example of the "Isfahan" shawl woven with a border of pavilions and domed minarets within lobed cartouches against an olive green ground, the centre with a lobed medallion, with Arabic calligraphic inscriptions reading "Couder 1834", "Isfahan", "Gaussen 1834" and an inscription saying that the shawl was exhibited at the exhibition of French manufactured goods in 1834--72 x 73in. (180 x 183cm.), circa 1834, French

Details

A rare example of the "Isfahan" shawl woven with a border of pavilions and domed minarets within lobed cartouches against an olive green ground, the centre with a lobed medallion, with Arabic calligraphic inscriptions reading "Couder 1834", "Isfahan", "Gaussen 1834" and an inscription saying that the shawl was exhibited at the exhibition of French manufactured goods in 1834--72 x 73in. (180 x 183cm.), circa 1834, French
See Colour Plate

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Lot Essay

This is one of the first known "quartered" shawls. It was designed by Amde Couder and woven by Gaussen, an important shawl manufacturer. Queen Marie-Amlieis said to have ordered a woven copy of it after seeing a painting of the shawl exhibited at the National Exposition in 1834. The combination of the complex design realised by newly advanced jacquard loom technology, represents a high point in French shawl weaving in the 19th century.
See "The Kashmir Shawl and its Indo-French Influence", Frank Ames, 1997, p.230; "The Cashmere Shawl", Monique Lvi-Strauss, 1987, pps. 78/9; "Cachemires parisiens 1810-1880 l'cole de l'Asie", Monique Lvi-Strauss, 1998, catalogue number 7.

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