The cashmere shawl was imported into Western Europe at the end of the eighteenth century. It comes from the Kashmere region in the northwest of India, where the short soft hairs of the mountain goat were hand-spun into cashmere yarn and woven into woolen cloth. Intricate patterns comprised of exotic motifs in polychrome on a red base, and a soft texture of cashmere enchanted ladies even its high price. The cashmere shawl became a popular item since the beginning of the nineteenth century for its rarity and exoticism, as well as for its practicality.