Complete Description

A Fine Algiers Silk Embroidered Head Veil,

Algeria, 19th Century

Broderie de soie à double face sur étoffe de lin, à décor de grandes fleurs stylisées au sein de guirlandes fleuries, les extrémités frangées, bon état général.

Dim. : 257 x 38 cm

Provenance:

Collection Zaira et Marcel Mis, puis par descendance

Collection particulière belge, acquis en 2023

Bibliography:

Anne-Marie Bouttiaux, Frieda Sorber, Anne van Cutsem, Costumes et textiles d'Afrique: des Berbères aux Zulu : collection Zaira et Marcel Mis, Milan, 2008, Cat. 19, pp. 40-41

Comment:

The head veils produced in Algeria from the eighteenth century onwards, are distinguished by the fineness of their silk embroidery and their rich floral decoration, often arranged in highly elegant symmetrical compositions. Intended for ceremonial use, these textiles testify to a refined craftsmanship shared across the urban centres of the Maghreb.

Comparable examples are preserved in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. 31.19.19) and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (inv. O319534), both attributed to Algeria and dated to the eighteenth century. A closely related veil is also preserved in the Musée des Oudayas, Rabat (inv. 1588).