Coveted in courtly circles in India, Iran, Africa and Europe, and worn by both men and women, Kashmir shawls were the ultimate transregional luxury good for hundreds of years, sparking artistic exchange and catalyzing the formation of global textile industries between the 16th and 19th centuries. On view through November 29, From Persia to Paisley: Global Luxury and the Kashmir Shawl is a special installation of 20 of these remarkable shawls, sashes, and fragments in the Hossein Afshar Art of the Islamic Worlds Galleries at the MFAH.

The Kashmir shawls and paintings on display show how a single textile transformed global fashion, fueled industrial innovation, and shaped collecting tastes across Asia, Africa, Europe, and America. Handwoven from pashm, the extraordinarily fine and resilient underhair of Himalayan goats, a single shawl required months of coordinated labor among expert designers, dyers, and weavers. Each design motif was built thread by thread using the complex kani technique, a form of twill tapestry weaving with small wooden bobbins developed by Kashmiri artisans to construct intricate, multicolored surfaces.

In the 19th century, demand for Kashmir shawls surged across Britain and Napoleonic France, thanks to Empress Josephine, a French fashion icon. In Lyon, a programmable loom developed by Joseph-Marie Jacquard in 1801 made possible machine-made Kashmir shawls in Europe, marking a pivotal moment in the history of industrial technology.

Instantly recognizable as a status symbol, Kashmir shawls adorned the shoulders of Mughal Indian emperors and the waists of Zand Persian dancers. Iranian and European paintings demonstrate the varied fashions for wearing them. The shawls on display include the first Islamic textiles to enter the Museum’s collections as gifts of Annette Finnigan, a Texas businesswoman, suffragette, philanthropist and avid traveler, who donated hundreds of

For more information please visit the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston website.

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