This woven silk shawl was the English silkweavers’ answer to the popularity of the fine wool shawls being imported from the Kashmir region of India. Long rectangular shawls were essential accessories of fashion for European women from the late 18th century through the middle of the 19th century. During this period, the basic form of a white monochrome center with "paisley" decorated borders on either end underwent a variety of permutations. By the early 1800s, the traditional format was expanded to include versions in deep colors with European-derived floral decoration, such as this piece.