Recognisable by its stylised almond-like shape, the badaam motif bears visual similarities to the Persian boteh, or buta, and the kairi, or kalka motif. Its name is derived from the Persian term badaam, meaning “almond”. The badaam motif has several variants and analogues in various textile traditions, the best-known among which is the Paisley motif.

Square Shawl; Kashmir, India; c. 1850–70; Silk and silver filé, wool: chain stitch embroidery; 212.1 x 212.1 cm; Cleveland Museum of Art
Long Shawl with Black Center and Exotic Four-Sided Gallery in Chinoiserie Style; Kashmir, India; c. 1840s; 2/2 twill tapestry, wool; 332.8 x 139.6 cm; Cleveland Museum of Art
Book Endpaper Design: Two Paisley Bands; Italy; c. 19th century; Woodcut on cream laid paper; 37.8 × 44.3 cm; Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Petticoat; Booth and Fox, London; c. 1860; Printed cotton, goose down, machine-sewn, lined with cotton; 81 cm; Victoria and Albert Museum

In India, the badaam motif is especially associated with the Kashmir Valley, where it developed in the sixteenth century with the arrival of the Mughals. It appears most commonly on the pashmina shawl as a part of the floral border design or as stand-alone outline motifs filled in with grouped flowers. The use of this motif has since extended beyond the traditional format of the Pashmina shawl and into other forms of printed, woven and embroidered fabric such as shawls and bed linen

The motif entered the popular visual idiom with its adoption and subsequent adaptation by the hippie culture of the 1960s and 70s and, later, the cowboy culture in the American Southwest. This paved the way for its entry into contemporary formal wear produced by large European luxury fashion houses and the couture of high-fashion brands. In India, besides continuing to be seen in traditional Kashmiri shawls, the badaam motif is now also a prominent feature of the chikankari embroidery tradition of Uttar Pradesh.