A fine Kashmiri pashmina ring shawl (Palladar) in a clear scarlet red, self-patterned edge to edge with paisley and flowering vine in the same colour, and finished at each end with a broad border of large paisleys worked on a dark indigo ground in gold, rose, aubergine and moss.
The name comes from the test. A Palladar is a shawl fine enough to be drawn whole through a finger ring — the traditional proof of fine Kashmiri pashmina. Yarn this fine breaks if the loom is pushed, so the weaving is slow and careful.
A ground that is patterned, not plain
Most ring shawls are woven plain, because pattern adds weight. This one is self-patterned across its whole length — the paisley is woven into the cloth in the same red, so it appears and disappears as the light moves over the folds. It gives the shawl the depth of a patterned piece while it still behaves like a plain one on the shoulder.
The border
What sets this piece apart is that the border is not woven on the red. The end panels are laid on a dark indigo ground with the paisleys worked over it in gold and rose — so the border reads almost as a separate, older cloth joined to the shawl. The gold has something dark to sit against, and the red beside it looks cleaner for the contrast.
This is a formal and wedding-season piece, and the indigo keeps it from being only that.
Details
- Ultra-fine Kashmiri pashmina
- Handwoven ring shawl — passes through a finger ring
- Self-patterned scarlet ground with woven indigo-ground paisley end borders
- Approx. 40" × 80"
- Dry clean only
- Handwoven in Kashmir
Handwoven cloth varies very slightly along its length; any faint unevenness you can see against the light is the mark of the handloom, not a fault.
Ships in Attan's branded box with a thank-you card, ready to gift.
