KASHMIRI. SHAWL IN THE PORTRAITS OF ROYAL LADIES OF EUROPE

                                            

               (Portrait of  Josephine Bonaparte )

              ( A  Painting in Louvre Museum )

      ( Portrait of Queen Konigin Pauline Wurttemberg )

                ( Portrait of   Marie Antoinette)

KASHMIRI. SHAWL IN THE PORTRAITS OF ROYAL LADIES  OF EUROPE..

When shawls were exported to Europe  (mainly France and England), they were worn exclusively by women from elite families or by queens and princesses. Paintings from the last quarter of the  18th century show high-society ladies of Europe wearing expensive Kashmiri shawls in various ways as accessories to the then-fashion trends.

From 1780 to 1830, there was a sudden profusion of portraits of women throughout Europe with Kashmir shawls wrapped around them. An artist who could skillfully depict a face and a shawl design was able to make a living. These paintings can be seen in the museums of Paris notably the Louvre.  I also saw some such paintings on display in the  Versailles Palace.  From mid 18th century, embroidered Pashmina and Kani Shawl became a much sought-after commodity in the  European markets. 

In France, I came to know that many Egyptian traders would move to Europe and sell Kashmiri Shawls. Apart from other commodities or handicrafts, some shops in Cairo used to sell Kashmiri shawls. Many books reveal the movement of silk, and other handicrafts including woollen shawls from India on the ancient Silk Route right up to Palmyra  (Syria), the last outpost of the Roman Empire.

   Merchants on the Silk Road transported goods and traded at bazaars or caravanserai along the way. They traded goods such as silk, spices, tea, ivory, cotton,  handicrafts,  Pashmina wool, precious metals, and many more items.Palmyra was a wealthy city located on the Silk Road, an ancient trade route linking China with Parthia and the Roman Empire.From these references, one can safely conclude that shawl-making has been in vogue in ancient Kashmir.

Josephine Bonaparte wife of Napoleon was gifted the first Kashmiri Pashmina Shawl by an Egyptian high official. I saw a portrait of  Josephine  Bonaparte wearing a gown, the lower part of which is made from a Kashmiri embroidered Pashmina shawl. The portrait was done by Antoine Jean Gros.

In another portrait that I saw, Queen Konigin Pauline Wurttemberg, Germany is shown wearing a Kashmiri shawl. This portrait was done in 1825 by artist  Joseph Karl Stieler. The queen is holding her son Karl who later married Grand Princess Olga.

I  also saw a portrait of   Marie Antoinette wife of King Louis XVI done by Jacques Louis David in 1790. She is shown wearing an exquisite  Kashmiri shawl over her left shoulder and elements of it hang down below her leg, revealing a patterned tip. The pretty queen was publicly guillotined by revolutionaries in Paris following the French Revolution which also abolished the monarchy in France.

Walter Benjamin in his book  “The Arcade Project “ , writes this:-

“In 1798 and 1799, the Egyptian campaign lent frightful importance to the fashion for shawls. Some generals in the expeditionary army, taking advantage of the proximity of India, sent home shawls … of cashmere to their wives and lady friends … From then on, the disease that might be called cashmere fever took on significant proportions. It began to spread during the Consulate, grew greater under the Empire, became gigantic during the Restoration, reached colossal size under the July Monarchy, and has finally assumed Sphinx-like dimensions since the February Revolution of 1848”

Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s conquest of Kashmir and his interest in the shawls led to a revival of the industry hit by natural calamity. The Sikh Maharaja had recruited two members of Napoleon’s army, Jean-Francois Allard and Jean-Baptiste Ventura — as his Generals. By 1835, the Generals were exporting shawls to Europe, and Amritsar had become the centre of the Kashmiri shawl trade.

( Avtar Mota)

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