Sabina Savage Exclusive The Lion & Tigers Tea Party Silk Scarf

The design of this beautiful Sabina Savage scarf features a joyful lion and tiger as they escape captivity. As they crash through an English tea party, they are surrounded by bunting, broken china, flowers and insets of The Tower of London. The colours in this design have been exclusively created by Sabina Savage for Fortnum & Mason, and this oversized silk twill scarf makes for a statement piece or an elegant wrap. Equally at home in the city or at the beach, these sumptuous 14 momme silk squares are masterfully hand fringed for a soft finish.

As the true tale goes, widely reported in 1830, the animal warden at the Tower of London was in the process of cleaning the pens when he unwittingly raised the partition between two stalls, allowing a Barbary lion (a North African species, now sadly extinct) and a Bengal tigress to meet. They set upon each other at once and a vicious battle ensues, leading to a tragic and unpleasant end. In this story, Sabina Savage tells a rewritten narrative of events; a tale of what could have been.

This collection is based around the true story of The Royal Menagerie housed at The Tower of London, beginning with a pair of lions during the reign of King John in the 1200s, and finally ending with over 280 beasts in 1835. Throughout history, Kings and rulers have given each other lavish gifts, and many believed live, wild animals to be suitable offerings. The illustrations in this collection reference many of the astounding and unusual zoological tales recorded from The Tower and encompass much of the history and legend of the building itself.

Hand-fringed edging.

Material: 100% Silk

Dimensions: 135cm x 135cm

Care Instructions: Dry clean only