A woven kashmir shawl, circa 1840, the ivory central field with four embroidered botehs, the remainder of the shawl densely woven with interlocking foliate botehs in pale green, red, black, pale blue and ivory, 335 by 145cm Provenance: Brought from Afghanistan in 1916 by lieutenant commander Kurt Wagner - a secret emissary sent by Kaiser Wilhelm on a diplomatic mission to try to broker an alliance with Emir Habilullah of Afghanistan. The trip was beset with problems as the British secret service got wind of the trip and made journey and did their best to deter him and his colleagues and the expedition was a failure. A copy of an article giving details of the expedition in 'Der Spiegel no 6/1980' is sold with the lot. The shawl was purchased by Mr Wagner as a souvenir of his time in Afghanistan.

Numerous moth holes to central area, the borders generally are good colours and good condition.