19th century textile (shawl?)

sofia C

sofia C

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Good evening! I am so glad I found this invaluable forum.
I have a piece that looks like a wool cape or shawl, in any case it is extremely long. The back of this shawl is much shorter and it is rounded.
Lined with glossy turquoise silk.
I'd really appreciate any insights about its origin and time period.
Thank you.
 

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I can say that it is magnificent! It is, as you say, a lady's shawl. From far away it looked to be a Kashmir or Paisley shawl. The close ups reveal it is not a Kashmir/Paisley shawl at all (those were woven, made on a hand loom or power loom (machine) but yours is hand pieced together and sewn, cleverly modeled to resemble a Paisley shawl. Fascinating technique. The hand embroidery is really very fine, and quite beautiful. I would date it to the mid 19th century, but would have to do a bit more research to pin down a date any further.

Can you share any details on where you acquired this treasure? It is a very special textile.
 
Dear Barbara! Thank you so much for your help!
I inherited this shawl and some other pieces from my husband's grandmother Ana who loved to collect unusual and beautiful garments. She lived in Paris where in 1916 she met an American man, her husband, who happened to own two New York garment factories (that were manufacturing mostly military uniforms). I am afraid it does not tell much about the provenance of this shawl.There are some other unusual pieces from her collection that I find hard to identify. I'd love to to show them here, hoping that you will take a look and kindly share with me your expertise.
Thank you again for your answer!
Sofia
 
I suspect it is French, made in a style that is inspired by the Kashmiri shawls of the early-mid 19th century. Its size suggests to me 1840s-1860s. I haven't seen an example this large before but I have seen colour embroidered black wool shawls from the mid 19th century before. It's very impressive.
 
I once had a heavy wool shawl, quite plain, but shaped much as this one in that it was much shorter in back than the side fronts. It had come from the estate of an opera singer. Her family said that she called it a carriage shawl because she could sit n a carriage and wrap the fronts around to completely cover herself and not have to contend with a lot of bulk in the back..
Marian
 
Thank you for identifying the mystery of this shawl!
I understand it is an early french imitation of Kashmir/Paisley shawl. It explains silk lining (Chinese silk?).
The hieroglyphic embroidery looks so oriental, I would newer guess it was made in Europe.

I am going to show another piece from the same box, another kind of mystery, connected with its label.
 
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