This is a lovely quality Indian silk shawl, beautifully woven with gold metallic thread on a black silk background.  The piece is decorated throughout the body of the shawl with antelopes and with Indian women, elephants, birds and antelopes within a forest in the gold border.  This came in a lot of 1920s/30s textiles, so I believe that it is an older piece.  It is not easy to date as they are still making lovely textiles in India, but this does appear to be a cut above what you might now see.   It is made in a long rectangular shape, more like a stole or large scarf with tasseled fringe at either end.  I think that this might be referred to as a “mundanai/mundhanai” or a “mundai”, meant to be a shoulder and neck covering over a sari.  Due to the ornate nature of the piece and the amount of gold thread used, this would have been a fairly expensive piece and reserved for special occasions.

Sizing: The shawl measures 22 3/8” by 70 1/2”, exclusive of its fringe. 

Condition:  It is in excellent condition with no wear, tear, staining or odour.   This shawl has been very well stored over the years.   

This is a gorgeous piece - extremely rich looking with the combination of black silk and gold detailing!