Is this shawl vintage?

[The Vintage Vendeuse]

Hello everyone I'm having a bit of trouble deciding if this shawl is vintage. So many ethnic shawls I see are beautifully hand embroidered but I haven't yet seen these types of stitches on an ethnic shawl. Such pretty french knot flowers, scalloped crochet edging, and little dangle-y flowers in the corners! The fabric is a semi-sheer black crepe or georgette and the shawl measures 100 inches by 37 inches. Whatever it turns out to be, I love it.
Thank you!
~Donna

 

[Vinclothes]

What a lot of hand work on this generous size shawl. The dangly flowers are definitely crocheted done with varicolored crochet thread - probably cotton or part cotton. The other stitches are standard embroidery stitches, but look bigger and bolder with the thicker thread.

What do you think is the fiber content of the fabric?

I think the shawl is later rather than earlier. I see 70's for dating. What do others think?

Marian

 

[The Vintage Vendeuse]

Thank you for your reply, Marian. Yes, there's definitely days of handwork in this piece, weeks, if were doing it! This type of stitching was common from 30s/40s on through current times on dresser scarves, etc. Right now I'm trying to find when variegated floss became available but I'm not having any luck. Also, I don't think the floss is standard cotton embroidery floss because it has a sheen to it. As for the black fabric content, I can't do a burn test because the entire perimeter is carefully rolled with the scalloped edging but it feels like rayon. That said, I'm not always the best at determining fabric content so I suppose it's possible it's silk, or even polyester, for that matter, lol!

Update: On a needlework discussion board, I was helped through burn tests of the floss and a couple tiny bits of fabric taken from within the roll edge of the hem. The fabric is likely a synthetic and the floss rayon. So... this shawl is likely meant to go with a sari, which I knew was a possibility when I purchased it but, as I said, it's gorgeous, vintage or not.