id:			130598
accession number:	1953.320
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1953.320
updated:		2022-09-10 10:12:36.255000

Panel from a Head Covering (‘ajar), probably 1800s or early 1900s. Africa, North Africa, Tunisia, probably Testour or Tunis, Tunisian weaver. Silk: plain cloth, brocaded; overall: 117.2 x 53.4 cm (46 1/8 x 21 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1953.320

title:				Panel from a Head Covering (‘ajar)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			probably 1800s or early 1900s
creation date earliest:		1800
creation date latest:		1925
current location:		
creditline:			Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	Africa, North Africa, Tunisia, probably Testour or Tunis, Tunisian weaver
technique:	Silk: plain cloth, brocaded
department:	Textiles
collection:	T - Islamic
type:		Textile
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 117.2 x 53.4 cm (46 1/8 x 21 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Stories From Storage
	opening date:   2021-02-07T05:00:00
	<i>Stories From Storage</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 7-May 16, 2021).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	(Jose Viñas, Barcelona, Spain, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
	date: 1953
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 1953-
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact: 
The <em>khamsah</em> (خمسة), an open five-fingered hand, is a protective motif. It is woven in red in multiple ways on this panel.

digital description: 
This panel was part of an urban Tunisian woman’s head-covering (<em>‘ajar</em>). Two such panels flanked a face-obscuring black panel. Such luxurious garments of seclusion were once reserved for elites. The decorative panels draped down when worn, showing off the finely woven motifs and demonstrating the wearer’s family wealth. Arranged in bands, motifs include stylized trees (or protective hands), flowers, eight-pointed stars, and geometric designs. The mirrored Kufic (squared Arabic script) lettering in teal is likely the name of the weaver or panel owner. Weavers with Muslim Andalusian (southern Spanish) heritage originally made these, drawing from Andalusian and Turkish motifs; later, workshops in Tunis produced them.

wall description: 

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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Gillow, John. African Textiles: Colour and Creativity Across a Continent. London: Thames &amp; Hudson, 2003.
	page number: 	p. 232
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1953.320/1953.320_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1953.320/1953.320_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1953.320/1953.320_full.tif