|
|
Dear Alix
Summer has gone by much too quickly, as all good times do. As the days become shorter and cooler, and the pace of our lives accelerates, few things can do so much for our spirits than  stepping out to face the world looking our best. Our Fall selection is designed to lift your spirits, keep you warm, and enhance your beauty and individuality. Please visit www.swanways.com, and call us any time to view our collection by appointment.
This issue features an article on the lovely design motif that became a trademark for Kashmir shawls, the boteh, better known in the West as paisley. In our portrait of the month, the Comtesse Daru, Jacques-Louis David devotes a significant portion of the canvas to her long flowing Kashmir shawl with a paisley pattern typical of the Empire period. Last but not least, we then ask for your ideas for a tag line for Swan Ways. To help inspire you, we offer a few suggestions of our own. We will reward the winning entry with a $100 gift certificate just in time for your holiday shopping.
Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. We hope you find it informative and enjoyable. Please send us your views and comments on products, articles, and any other ways in which Swan Ways can better address your interests and desires. It is always a pleasure to hear from you.
With warmest regards,
Alix Sundquist
| |
|
Paisley and the Kashmir Shawl
 The flame-shaped, curved-tip motif called buta or boteh (flower in Hindi), known more commonly as paisley in the West, is a characteristic feature of many Kashmir shawls.
The design first appeared in its present form during the Mughal period (1586-1753), but its origins are uncertain. A plausible explanation is that the pattern goes back to ancient Babylon, where a tear-drop shape was a symbol representing the growing shoot of a date palm. The palm provided food, drink, fiber for clothing, and shelter, and came to be regarded as the "tree of life," and to become gradually accepted as a fertility symbol.
Other explanations place the buteh's origins in medieval designs found  in India, Iran, Byzantium, Sicily, and Spain. Through the centuries, the buteh motif underwent many modifications, and evolved from a small cluster of flowers into abstract design features with complex symbolic meanings. It became known as paisley when in the early nineteenth century the city of Paisley in Scotland became one of the most important centers for the manufacture of shawls imitating those of Kashmir. Read more: Beyond the Fringe: Shawls of Paisley Design
Image:
Kashmir Shawl, 1860s,
The Textile Museum
|
Portrait of the Month - Comtesse Daru by Jacques-Louis David
"Portrait of Alexandrine Thérèse Nardot, Comtesse Daru" (The Frick Collection, 1810), is a remarkable portrait by France's greatest neoclassical painter, Jacques-Louis David. In the sitter's face we can appreciate the warmth of her  demeanor, her subtle smile and the glow in her cheeks. Her attire also displays intense attention to detail: from the brocade of her white dress to the gold edges of her necklace and, especially, the vibrant green color of her gorgeous Kashmir shawl. It is not just an image, but a successful evocation of the character and personality of the comtesse and of her times.
Comtesse Daru was the wife of a military official who negotiated David's fee for his monumental and perhaps best-known painting, which now hangs in the Louvre, "The Coronation of Napoleon and Josephine" (1805-08). Pierre-Antoine Daru was a prominent figure in the Imperial Service who was considered an able administrator and had a reputation, rare at the time, for financial probity.
David played a significant role in consolidating imperial power and establishing the visual language of the Empire. Two of the finest portraits of Napoleon were his: "Bonaparte Crossing the Alps at Grand-Saint Bernard" (Musée National des Château de Malmaison, c.1801-1802), is undoubtedly one of the most widely recognized works of Western art - no other painting can surpass the vision of the hero, atop a magnificent horse, his cloak unfurling in the wind, his uniform ornate and regal, and his finger pointing the way to glory. The other, The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries (National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., 1812) shows Napoleon working late into the night. David's work had a resounding influence on the development of French painting, and his many pupils included Gérard, Gros, and Ingres.
|
| Enter our Contest:
Best Tag Line gets a $100 Swan Ways' gift certificate
Since founding Swan Ways two years ago, I have thought long and hard about the right tag line for the vision that inspired me. I am looking for a tag line that defines Swan Ways as a brand that denotes quality, refinement, and discrimination, and which appeals to those who value sophisticated styles with timeless fashion appeal and functionality. The ideal tag line would also evoke the romantic inspiration of our name: Empress Josephine, the First Empire, Proust, Kashmir, Persian miniatures.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
- For every age, for every season
- Timeless grace with a touch of royalty
- The style of an empress, the grace of a swan
- Comfort and grace, without compare
Here is how to enter:
- Submit your suggestions to alix@swanways.com by October 15.
- The top five entries will be published in our November Newsletter and you will be asked to vote on them.
- The winning entry and the runners-up will be published in the December Newsletter.
- The person who suggested the winning tag line gets a $100 gift certificate; runners-up get $15 each.
|
|
|
|
 Invitation to contribute to the newsletter
We look forward to hearing from you!
|
|
|
