A zari Kani pashmina shawl woven in rippling diagonal bands of crimson and dove grey. Each band is filled with flowering sprigs, buds and curling leaves, and edged with a fine chain of tiny flowers in black and deep red, so the whole field seems to move like water. Flecks of gold zari are scattered through the pattern and catch the light as the shawl moves. A red floral vine border runs around all four sides, and each end finishes in a row of small arched niches on a black ground, each holding a single flower.
The design
Wave jaal is one of the older Kashmiri shawl layouts: instead of placing motifs in rows, the field is divided into flowing bands that cross the cloth on the diagonal. Here the two colours alternate band by band, so the shawl reads as crimson from one angle and soft grey from another. Draped, the waves follow the body rather than cutting across it.
How it is made
The pattern is not printed or embroidered onto the cloth. It is woven into the pashmina, colour by colour, with the zari carried through the weave alongside the coloured threads. Turn the shawl over and you will see the reverse of the weave, with the thread changes and zari floats visible. That is the honest back of a woven pattern, not a fault.
The colour
Crimson and dove grey is an unusual pairing that wears easily: the red keeps it festive, the grey keeps it from feeling loud, and the black arched ends ground the whole piece. It sits well over black, grey, ivory or maroon, and works as well at a winter wedding as on an ordinary evening out.
Details
- Pashmina
- Kani pattern woven into the cloth, not printed or embroidered
- Diagonal wave jaal in alternating crimson and dove grey bands, filled with flowering sprigs
- Gold zari woven through the field
- Red floral vine border on all four sides, with arched niche bands on black at each end
- Approximately 45" × 85"
- Dry clean only by a specialist. Do not press zari directly, and keep away from rings, brooches and rough jewellery, which can catch the threads on the reverse
- Store folded, away from direct sunlight
One piece only. Slight irregularity in the weave is natural to woven work of this kind, not a fault.
Ships in Attan's branded box with a thank-you card, ready to gift.
