Name of Object:

Marriage shawl

Location:

Tunis, Tunisia

Holding Institution:

Musée des Arts et Traditions Populaires

 About Higher Institute for the Study of Contemporary History of Tunisia, University of Manouba, Tunis

Date of Object:

19th–20th century

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Emroidered wool

Dimensions:

H. 454 cm, l. 120 cm

Provenance:

El Jem

Description:

This loose marriage shawl is decorated with various symbols of fertility. Two large rectangles of red wool are sewn together, and their joining seam is ornately decorated with gold embroidery. The decorations are spread out across the whole cloth, forming a strip of finely woven motifs in the centre, which is surrounded by various traditional figures and patterns. The human figures are characteristic of the (often enigmatic) decorative arts of the towns of El Jem and Ouerdanine, and feature here in addition to the more common motifs such as the fish, the hand, disks, circles, diamonds, crescents, the dove and the camel.

[sh_db_typeof_object]

Textiles; dress; embroidery

Citation of this web page:

Saloua Khadhar Zangar "Marriage shawl " in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2025.
https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;AWE;tn;18;en

Prepared by: Saloua Khadhar Zangar
Translation by: Flaminia Baldwin

MWNF Working Number: TN 018