Homes & Antiques

Paean to Paisley

Paisley pattern incorporates a motif that, once seen, is never forgotten. It is variously described as a teardrop, tadpole, pine cone, pear, mango and feather, or, with more cultural significance, as a combined cypress tree and flower spray symbolising life and fertility. The motif probably originated in Persia around 2,000 years ago and travelled through central Asia with the name meaning ‘flower’. Reconfigured in innumerable ways ever since, whether

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