Shawl. Culture: probably Scottish. Date: 1830-50.This is a particularly intricate pattern woven in one of the European shawl manufacturing centers, probably Paisley, Scotland. The palmette border pattern seems to relate to 16th-century textile vocabulary while the boteh is adapted from the Indian and Persian form. It is unusual to have an outer border in two colorways which gives the appearance of being applied but in fact it is all woven of one piece.The shawl held a place as a high fashion accessory for a relatively large period between the end of the 18th century to the 1870s. These accessories were originally adopted by men with exposure to India and Persia through the Trading Companies. The changing fashions near the end of the 18th century brought a renewed interest in Indian and Persian shawls as a form of warmth over the thin muslins of fashionable Empire silhouette dresses. The shawls came in many designs which generally incorporated the boteh form. This form, which is mostl