June

The 'Paisley' tear drop motif (depicted right), so typical of Kashmiri shawls, is said to originate from 16th century Persia. In rural Punjab where it is taken to represent the stylised mango shape, it is called an 'Ambi', derived from the Indian word ('Amb') for mango. As western consumer demand for Kashmiri shawls increased, key centres for manufacturing cheaper machine-made copies, developed throughout Europe and the motif acquired the name 'Paisley' - after the Scottish town that became the foremost producer of imitation Kashmiri shawls.

The decorative panel (above) incorporates flowers representing Paisley town and other centres of 'paisley shawl' production in Europe including Scotland, Norwich, Switzerland, France and Germany. The artwork (right), shows a shawl of the Merlina workshop - a Russian company that adapted the 'Ambi' pattern for Russian markets by replacing indigenous Indian floral motifs with Russian flowers.