J.H.Terry

Textiles | Antique Manipur Shawl

This is a extremely rare silk embroidery on silk, community elder's shawl, circa 1850, Manipur, India. I've only seen three other examples, one in the Victoria & Albert Musuem collection, and two others, one of which had very bad UV light damage. Both were in private collections. The shawl was made for the most important figure, the elder of the Meitei community in Manipur, India. The V & A piece was acquired from the India Museum, London, in 1879, and is in near mint condition, as is ours. This magnificent man's shawl is embroidered in floral patterns of floss silk, chain stitch and roman filling stitch. Embroidery is not common in the Manipur district, and this is a very rare, surviving example. Price on Request