"From
Srinagar to Paris and Paisley: the Kashmir Shawl in its Descendents"
With David Reisbord,
Retired
Physician, Textile Collector and TMA/SC Member
India
has always
been a treasure
trove of textile production. Among the most prominent of these has been the
Kashmir shawl. Begun in the high Himalayas as Shatoush,
the under- belly hair of the Tibetan ibex, the shawls, from which the
paisley pattern was derived became a fashion symbol for the most wealthy of
Western Europe elite in the late 18th century. Because of
their extreme costliness and to meet the demands of the European market
attempts to reproduce them in less costly fashion were devised both in
India, but particularly in
Britain in the Scottish town of paisley, and by
the French in Lyon and Nimes.with
the invention of the Jacquard loom. Indian designs were eventually
influenced by European demands.
TMA/SC member David Reisbord grew up in
Los Angeles and graduated from
Occidental
College and
Albert
Einstein
College of medicine and is
now retired from a long career as a neurologist. He became interested in
ethnographic textiles following a trip to Guatemala many years ago. About 20
years ago he saw his first Kashmir shawl in a Bangkok shop and it was love at first sight.
He became a "Dyed in the wool
collector" of the shawls. He will
"unravel myths and spin a yarn"
about them and discuss
the
modern history of the
Kashmir
shawl and its influence on European art and styles as well as changes in
shawl designs dictated by European demand. This will include tips on dating
shawls as well as how to differentiate between Indian handwoven shawls
and European imitations produced by Jacquard looms.. He will
demonstrate how European economic demands spurred newer faster and cheaper
but not necessarily less beautiful results. Finally he will show highlights
of his collection and
literally
"pull the wool over your eyes"
David invites TMA/SC members and guests to bring
examples of
Kashmir and European shawls for discussion
Demonstrating a long shawl
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