Reproduction from the collection of the Albany Institute of Art & History by Burnley & Trowbridge.
The deep purple "paisley" handkerchief which this handkerchief was copied from came to the collection with no provenance. In the 90's while visiting the Institute, paisley shawl expert, Arlene Cooper assigned it a date of 1830. With no further notes we do not know what methods she used to date the antique. However, in our own research, we have seen similar designs much earlier then 1830. In India, known as a "buta" or "boteh", (meaning flower), the pattern was used to adorn all manner of items till the middle of the 18th century. The pattern became popular globally whe the East India Company began to import shawls and other textiles adorned with the motif in the early 18th century. It's popularity continued to flourish and led to the town of Paisley in Scotland becoming a major manufacturer of the pattern in shawls, thus the name "paisley" was adopted.
Our handkerchief is printed in two tones of purple a popular color in both the 18th and the 19th century.
- Measures approximately 34 inches square.
- 100% hand loomed cotton mull.
- Hand printed and hand finished.
- About Our Handkerchiefs
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