The origins of the paisley motif
The Kashmiri Paisley or 'Buta' pattern, brought to England by the East India Company in the 19th century, has roots in ancient Persia, with early designs found in Balkh, modern-day Afghanistan.
Have you ever paused to wonder about the story behind those teardrop shapes that seem to appear everywhere—from scarves and wallpaper to bandanas and high-fashion runways?
It has been worn by everyone from Queen Victoria to The Beatles and is instantly recognised across the world. You might know it as the ‘Paisley’ pattern, but do you know where it comes from? Or what it symbolises?
The Paisley motif has a rich history stretching back over 2,500 years. In ancient Persia, it was (and still is) known as ‘Buta’ or ‘Boteh’, meaning bush or shrub.
Today, we commonly call it “Paisley” because of its association with the Scottish town of Paisley in Renfrewshire, which become famous in the early 19th century (around 1808) for producing shawls featuring this distinctive pattern. At its height, from about 1850 to 1860, the town of Paisley employed some 6,000 weavers, who reproduced this Eastern-inspired motif using the then-innovative Jacquard looms.
But the journey of this pattern begins long before it reached Europe. Ancient representations of the Paisley pattern have been discovered in Persia and Central Asia, dating to the Achaemenid (550–330 BC) and Sassanid (224–651 AD) empires. Archaeological findings in Balkh and Herat (in present-day Afghanistan) reveal its roots in my native homeland.
One remarkable discovery in 1949 from the Pazyryk Valley in the Altai Mountains of Russia unveiled a 2,500-year-old leather flask adorned with Paisley motif.
So where did it all begin?
Well, it’s tied to Zoroastrianism, an ancient Persian religion. The shape of the pattern is often linked to the cypress tree, a Zoroastrian symbol of freedom and life. The Persian poet Daqiqi (935-977 AD), from Balkh, recounted that the prophet Zoroaster brought the “Free Cypress” (Sarv-e Azada) from paradise and had King Vishtaspa plant it near a fire temple in the Khorasan region. Others link the motif to the flame of Zoroaster.
This sacred tree, believed to be around 1,400 years old when it was cut down on the order of the Arab Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutawakkil, appears often in Zoroastrian tradition as a symbol of divine grace. Over time, stylised depictions of the cypress and the eternal flame of Zoroastrian worship merged to give rise to the distinctive curve of the pattern.
Adding to the scholarship around the motif is Dr Cyrus Parham, who wrote in a 1999 article that:
“We have a multitude of outstanding examples of this motif in the pre-Islamic and post-Islamic Persian arts. We find the first manifestations of this ancient motif in Scythian and Achaemenid art, mainly portrayed as the wings of Homa or Senmurv (Simorgh), and which lasted in the same manner till the Sassanian period.”
Through centuries of changing political powers and cultural exchange, the pattern remained a staple of Persian identity. Some traditions even interpret the drooping shape of the Paisley as Persia “bowing its head” after the Arab conquest in the 7th century CE, symbolising mourning or submission to new rulers.
The Noh Gumbad Mosque in Balkh, Afghanistan, features one of the earliest known examples of the Paisley designin its intricate decorative brickwork, where the pattern is believed to have been included as early as 800 AD.
The Paisley motif’s journey to India occurred largely due to the Mughal Empire (1526–1857) and its cultural ties with Persia. By the late 17th century, Buta motifs appeared prominently in Mughal textiles and on the renowned Kashmir shawls, woven from the soft wool of Pashmina goats in the Himalayan region. According to local historians, Sultan Zein-al-Aabedin of the 15th century actively promoted Persian decorative designs in Kashmir, laying the groundwork for a flourishing shawl industry that would eventually captivate European tastes.
The word “shawl” itself derives from the Persian “shal”, meaning a woven piece of fabric rather than a specific item of clothing. These shawls became so highly prized that during the reign of Emperor Akbar (16th century), he not only wore them himself—often two at a time as a symbol of status—but also gifted them to rulers and high officials. By the 1700s, the ornate Kashmir shawl had taken on the form we now associate with the modern Paisley pattern.
How, then, did “Buta” become “Paisley”?
Trade played a central role. According to historical accounts, Kashmiri princes gifted shawls adorned with the design to European officers. As European demand for luxurious Eastern textiles grew, the British East India Company began importing Kashmiri shawls to the West during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Wealthy women, including Empress Josephine (wife of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte), were captivated by their intricate designs. When Empress Josephine wore Kashmir shawls featuring the Paisley pattern, they became a fashion sensation across Europe. In response, Scottish weavers in the town of Paisley mastered innovative textile techniques, such as the Jacquard loom, enabling them to reproduce these exotic Eastern patterns at a fraction of the cost. By the 19th century, the pattern itself became inseparably linked with the Scottish town of Paisley.
Over time, the Paisley pattern came to represent not only luxury but also countercultural and bohemian tastes. The 19th-century writer Oscar Wilde and the broader Aesthetic and Art Nouveau movements embraced it for its flamboyant detail and Eastern mystique. By the 1960s, cultural icons such as The Beatles popularised Paisley designs, further cementing their place in Western fashion.
Fashion designers, from Yves Saint Laurent to contemporary brands like Etro and Pringle, have continuously reinvented and reintroduced Paisley on catwalk collections. Meanwhile, interior designers—including Thibault, Anna French, Zoffany, and GP & J Baker—have woven new life into this age-old motif, incorporating it into walls, furnishings, and home décor.
Despite its global popularity, one essential fact remains largely overlooked: the Paisley, or Buta design, traces its origins to ancient Persia, particularly the region of Khorasan, much of which is now part of modern-day Afghanistan.
So, the next time you wear or see this swirling motif, take a moment to reflect on its roots in my native homeland and the countless hands that have kept its flame alive through the centuries. You’re not just admiring a beautiful pattern; you’re witnessing a piece of cultural and artistic heritage that has shaped fashion and design across the globe for over two millennia—yet its deep connection to Afghanistan and its Persianate history remains largely forgotten.
This was really interesting, Shabnam. I had no idea that paisley had its origins in Afghanistan--in particular in Balkh, which played such an important role in ancient Afghan history.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful history of the paisley pattern! I knew its origin was oriental but not that it came from the region of Persia that is modern-day Afghanistan, or that it was a Zoroastrian symbol.