NORTH INDIA, CIRCA 1850

While the square shawl (rumal) was worn most commonly by women, the long shawl (dochalla), characterised by its rectangular shape, was particularly favoured by men and was worn draped over the shoulder or around the body for warmth. The decorative repertoire of long shawls of the Sikh period have been divided into the ‘classic’ and the ‘modern’ (Frank Ames, The Kashmir Shawl and its Indo-French Influence, Suffolk, 1997, p.56). Whereas the design of the former was confined to narrower pallas (borders), in the modern group, as shown by the present shawl, more expressive design patterns covered a larger surface of the shawl (ibid., p.57). For a comparable shawl with a similarly vibrant central field see ibid., colour pl.209, p.347.
Post Lot Text
This lot has been imported from outside the EU for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on the invoice. Please see Conditions of Sale for further information.