SILK CHIFFON SCARVES FROM ENGLAND

These elegant 71" x 22" scarves are beautifully made to the highest standards—the hems are hand rolled and sewn, not machine stitched. Because they are silk chiffon, they can easily be tied in a variety of ways; each is large enough to wear as a light sha

MONET WATER LILIES

Inspired by the work of French impressionist artist Claude Monet, the blue, aqua, greens, pink and lavender reflect the shimmering colors in the approximately 250 paintings he did of his pond at Giverny, the main focus of his artistic production during the last decades of his life. A curator described one of the paintings in the series, “. . . lilies bloom in a luminous pool of green and blue that is frothed.”

MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPT

This scarf is based on motifs found in a circa-1500 book of hours in the collection of The Fitzwilliam Museum at the University of Cambridge. Based on a strewn-flower border from a page in the book, it includes primroses, violas, thistles, poppies, and chamomile, as well as moths and insects all with symbolic meanings that were well known to the medieval populace.

VAN GOGH SUNFLOWERS

This vibrant scarf is inspired by Vincent van Gogh’s sunflower paintings that comprise one of the most famous series of works in art history. To Van Gogh, the sunflower (tournesol, in French, “turn to the sun”) symbolized gratitude; Paul Gauguin called the paintings “completely Vincent.”

CRESSIDA BELL BLOOMSBURY

“The bohemian English circle that included Virginia Woolf, Duncan Grant, and Vanessa Bell revolted against Victorian formality—and their casually ornamental style is inspiring

designers today.” —The New Yorker

The design on this aqua and coral scarf was created by the contemporary artist Cressida Bell and reflects the influence of her well-known Bloomsbury Group forebears (Quentin Bell was her father and Vanessa Bell her grandmother).

CLUNY TAPESTRY

The design of this scarf is based on the imagery of the six Lady and Unicorn tapestries on display in the Musée de Cluny in Paris. The tapestries, woven in Flanders from designs drawn in Paris, circa-1500, are thought to depict the five senses (the sixth is inscribed with à mon seul désir) and are thought to represent a meditation on earthly pleasures.

RENAISSANCE MANUSCRIPT

The flower motifs on this scarf are taken from an exquisite Renaissance manuscript. The blossoms cover the central area of the scarf; on each end is a wide border of flowers, buds, leaves, and berries, in saturated shades of blue, pink, and green. In Europe during the Renaissance, the faithful looked to nature for spiritual enlightenment and to guide their contemplation of the divine.

SHAKESPEARE LOVE

This design incorporates favorite love quotations from Shakespeare, along with stylized illustrations of flowers mentioned in his works (wildflowers, the Tudor rose, sprigs of berries, and bees). The quotations are printed in a subtle pale gray calligraphic font on the palest of pale yellow backgrounds. The quotations include: “Who ever loved that loved not at first sight?”; “Speak low if you speak love”; “If music be the food of love, play on”; and others.

CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL

The flower motifs on this scarf are taken from 14thcentury medieval French Lady’s Book of Hours, housed in the Canterbury Cathedral Library. During the Renaissance, the faithful looked to nature for spiritual enlightenment and to guide their contemplation of the divine. In illuminated manuscripts made during the period, intricately painted flora was often represented as an aid to prayer and prized for its religious symbolism and medicinal value.