A LONG KASHMIRI SHAWL PROPERTY FROM LADY CONSTANCE STEWART RICHARDSON COLLECTION India, late 19th century The oblong format elegantly woven in twill tapestry technique in coloured wools with sweeping long butis in scrolling designs infilled with delicate flora around a square black centre invaded by scrolling foliage and stylised cypresses, workshop mark and '991' embroidered in white, the border predominantly in greens, the harlequin horizontal borders in fine pashmina, 340cm x 136cm. Provenance: With Lady Constance Stewart Richardson since her trip to Kashmir in 1902, then by descent in the family. Lady Constance Stewart-Richardson (1883-1932), noblewoman and controversial British dancer and author, incurred the displeasure of Edward VII with her semi-clad dancing and was barred from court. The free-spirited Lady Constance favoured the present shawl as a souvenir of her time in India and Kashmir, and the time she kept warm by sharing a room with her yak on her distant journeys. The shawl has been with her family ever since and quintessentially embodies the fascination that countries like India would have cast on Western visitors at the turn of the century.