I need some help with some old textiles

6rivets is signed up as a member, hopefully she will check in!

 

;0

 

Here I am!

All three appear to either be Kashmiri or Kashmiri-style shawls. All appear to be hand-woven.

They still weave and embroider these in exactly the same way, and people wear them just as they have for, well, forever. In Dehradun (~100 miles from the Tibet and Nepal borders, where a lot of Basmati rice is grown) I spent a couple hours just sitting in one of the shawl shops, where customers and salesmen alike sit as the latter display a bazillion shawls until the "right" one is found. I couldn't decide - too many - and ended up buying a couple vintage ones for a quarter apiece at the untouchables' secondhand market.

Anyway...what's changed are the colors, dyes, and designs. Hard to tell whether #2 or #3 is the oldest. #2 is, of course, the border only. From the quality of the embroidery alone, it's got to be at least 50 years old, possible as much as twice that.

Incidentally, these designs started out as embroidery. And itinerant shawl-repairers collect the old ones and save the yarn for fixing family heirlooms.

(Yeah, it's about time for me to make some plane reservations...)

 

Believe it or not I have something similar sitting here. Dunno how old it is, but it's made the same way. Paid too much, especially compared to Rivets' quarter deals!

 

Well yes, a quarter deal. Plus airfare round trip to India .... I think you're OK evelynb

Not that a journey to India didn't have priceless experiences, but you know what I mean I hope.

 

What a find! Lovely pieces! 6rivets got here with the answer. If she hadn't, I was going to tell you what I know about one I have, a paisley nearly identical to the 3rd one. In 2009 I posted a query on the Needle Arts... Textile board getting the same or at least a similar answer as from 6rivets. Who knows it may have been 6rivets that replied to me!

Oh, well, I have the reply at hand saved in the inventory of the shawl soooo will just pass it on to you. Nothing new that rivet doesn't know. BTW, mine is 68" x 68" with 4 big round stains and tears - not nearly in as good as shape as yours.

"... Shawl is of the type have never been woven in the Middle East. They originated in the Kashmir, which is at the very northern end of India just south of China.

"The design and dimensions suggest to me this is 1860s or so and machine-woven but it's hard to tell without more and crisper closeups. [The replier gave a link to an auction of a machine-woven and and an auction of a handwoven one.]

"Especially given the condition problems, this one is likely to sell on the low end of the scale, which begins around $90 or thereabouts."

--- Susan

 

Nope, that wasn't me that gave you that info, 'cause I would've said Kashmir is just west of Tibet

Yes, people would want these pieces. I'd sell them individually, start them at $10 and see where they went.

The shawls I got for a quarter apiece aren't all that spectacular. One is handwoven in natural wool with a black cotton border design; I overdyed it indigo. The other is black wool with hand-embroidered designs in softish colors. Someday I will post pictures.

I also bought a nice saree for a dime, but it was synthetic and I decided it wasn't worth carrying around, so I left it for the hotel maid.

 

I'd have been wearing it....

 

When you list your scraps put the words, cutter and or repair and or scrap, in the title. They will sell. People need scraps for patches, pincushions, etc. The embroidered border pieces should do well.