Motif from Kashmir Shawl: Lagwurdee (Lapis-lazuli Color), No. 17, For Shah Zuman, Persia

One of group of eight textile designs made in Kashmir and sent to England in 1823 by British trader, William Moorcroft for use in the shawl making industry. These textile designs are the only surviving from a group of 34 drawings he sent, as part of his personal interesr in making British shawls supreme over all competitors. They are all painted on paper in brilliant colored gouache and varnished. Each shows a large stylized Paisley "cone" set in a field and are signed on the verso "William Moorcroft, Kashmeer, 1823", numbered, inscribed with the color of the ground in Kashmiri vernacular, and, on all but two, with the name and country of the person who commissioned the original shawl. In England, they would have been translated to graph paper to create mise-en-cartes for the guidance of a weaver.

This design, titled "Lagwurdee [lapis-lazuli color]", contains a large paisley "cone" made up of several layers of borders of different widths, each made up of different types of tiny stylized flowers with red or cream petals. The center of the cone contains thin scrolling branches, colored with yellowish-green, with small frlowers and leaves colored with different shades of red and purple. The lower part of the cone contains two large diagonal leaves that are made up of small rosettes with red or white petals and brown leaves, with offsetting scrolling leaves. The background of the design is made up of a floral pattern with scrolling branches with tiny leaves and flowers colored with shades of red and purple.