Media contributions
1Media contributions
Title Antiques Roadshow Media name/outlet BBC Duration/Length/Size 3 minutes Country/Territory United Kingdom Date 3/11/24 Description BBC TV series Antiques Roadshow featured an expert from Heriot-Watt University in its latest episode.
Presenter Fiona Bruce interviewed Dr Britta Kalkreuter from Heriot-Watt’s School of Textiles and Design in the show, which was filmed at Thirlestane Castle, near Lauder in the Scottish Borders.
The segment was about the School’s textile collection of Paisley shawls, dating from the early 19th century to the 1850s, which is housed at the Scottish Borders Campus in Galashiels.
Paisley shawls became hugely popular in the 18th and 19th centuries after luxurious cashmere shawls were brought to Europe from Kashmir in India.
“They came over as very valuable gifts, especially for a female members of the family,” Dr Kalkreuter explained in her interview. “And they gained great popularity. They were worth an awful lot. So in today’s money, a shawl like this might command a price of £30,000.”
Fiona Bruce asked about the continuing popularity of Paisley designs, which are richly patterned and often feature a distinctive Persian-style teardrop motif.
She said: “What I find so wonderful about these shawls is how this design has endured. And it’s so popular today and is popular all around the world. I can’t think of many other designs that you could say that of?”
Dr Kalkreuter agreed and said: “Many of you will have a Paisley tie at home, I imagine? We also had this in the 60s. The Beatles are on record as having worn quite a lot of psychedelic shirts that included Paisley designs. And it’s still around.”
Heriot-Watt has more than 100 Paisley shawls and shawl fragments in its Textile Collection, which is an internationally recognised resource for Scottish textile heritage is part of the University's museum and archive collections.
Earlier this year, some of Heriot-Watt’s Paisley shawls and shawl fragments were exhibited in an exhibition called A Passion for Paisley at The Great Tapestry of Scotland in Galashiels.
Paisley shawls were named after the town of Paisley in Renfrewshire, which started mass producing the shawls in the 1800s.
Dr Kalkreuter is an expert in design theory, including the study of design and its meaning in textiles and architecture. She is Associate Executive Dean for Research and Impact at Heriot-Watt School of Textiles and Design and an Associate Professor of Design.
Now in its 47th series, Antiques Roadshow first aired in 1979 and uncovers history through antiques brought in by local people in different locations.
Scroll to 16:16 in this BBC iPlayer link to watch Dr Kalkreuter in Episode 8, Series 47, of Antiques Roadshow, ‘Thirlestane Castle 2. ’Producer/Author BBC URL https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0024r4t/antiques-roadshow-series-47-8-thirlestane-castle-2 Persons Britta Kalkreuter