Berber
Woman’s Head Cover (Mendil or Tajira)
Berber, 1899-1965
Scroll
Berber
Woman’s Head Cover (Mendil or Tajira)
Berber, 1899-1965
Physical Qualities
Wool, cotton, 41 x 31 in. (104.1 x 78.7 cm.)
Credit Line
Art Acquisition Fund
Object Number
2011.87
The fanciful fringe and brilliant, almost sparkling pattern of fiery starbursts across a rich indigo ground belie the quiet purpose of this cloth. A Berber woman wore it as a simple headscarf in everyday contexts or occasionally underneath a more ornate dyed and embroidered head-covering. The scarf was made by hand from beginning to end, starting with wool threads spun from the fleece of sheep raised by Berber shepherds. The handspun threads were plain-woven on a rectangular frame loom and tie- and spot- dyed by women artists.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by purchase, 2011; Andres Moraga Textile Art, Berkeley, CA
Hand Held: Personal Arts from Africa
Kingdoms of Gold and Sand: Art across the Sahara
Gillow, John. African Textiles. London: Thames and Hudson, 2003: 138-139.
Reswick, Irmtraud. Traditional Textiles of Tunisia. African Arts, Vol. 14, No. 4 (May, 1981): 56-65+92.
Reswick, Irmtraud. Traditional Textiles of Tunisia and Related North African Weavings. Los Angeles: Craft & Folk Art Museum, 1985: 95-104.
Ricard, Prosper. "Le batik berbere." Hesperis, Tome V (4th Trimestre, 1925): 411-426.
Skhiri, Fathia. "Les chales des Matmata." Cahiers des Arts et Traditions Populaires: Revue du Centre des Arts et Traditions Populaires, No. 4. Institut National d'Archeologie et d'Arts. Ministere des Affaires Culturelles et de l'Information Tunis, 1971: 49-54.
Spring, Christopher and Julie Hudson. North African Textiles. USA: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1995: 114-115.
Vandenbroeck, Paul. Azetta, L'art des Femmes Berberes. Gand: Ludion; Paris: Flammarion; Bruxelles: Société des expositions du Palais des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles, 2000: 83-107.
Reswick, Irmtraud. Traditional Textiles of Tunisia. African Arts, Vol. 14, No. 4 (May, 1981): 56-65+92.
Reswick, Irmtraud. Traditional Textiles of Tunisia and Related North African Weavings. Los Angeles: Craft & Folk Art Museum, 1985: 95-104.
Ricard, Prosper. "Le batik berbere." Hesperis, Tome V (4th Trimestre, 1925): 411-426.
Skhiri, Fathia. "Les chales des Matmata." Cahiers des Arts et Traditions Populaires: Revue du Centre des Arts et Traditions Populaires, No. 4. Institut National d'Archeologie et d'Arts. Ministere des Affaires Culturelles et de l'Information Tunis, 1971: 49-54.
Spring, Christopher and Julie Hudson. North African Textiles. USA: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1995: 114-115.
Vandenbroeck, Paul. Azetta, L'art des Femmes Berberes. Gand: Ludion; Paris: Flammarion; Bruxelles: Société des expositions du Palais des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles, 2000: 83-107.
