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Source Description
Small bands like this decorated furnishings. They are distinctive to Azemmour, Morocco, where Jewish women embroidered them at home. This band’s red designs are floral and geometric; the scrolls may be abstracted dragons. Its Renaissance-era motifs reflect centuries of cross-Mediterranean exchange (especially with Portugal, which ruled Azemmour from 1513 to 1541). Such designs traveled to North Africa via printed pattern books. Patterns were transferred onto fabric, then the backgrounds were covered with filling stitches: plait and cross-stitches were used here. The production of these embroideries ceased around the mid-1900s because of cost and changing fashions.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
95510
label
Fragment of a furnishing textile
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
95510
contentType
object
title
Fragment of a furnishing textile
description
Small bands like this decorated furnishings. They are distinctive to Azemmour, Morocco, where Jewish women embroidered them at home. This band’s red designs are floral and geometric; the scrolls may be abstracted dragons. Its Renaissance-era motifs reflect centuries of cross-Mediterranean exchange (especially with Portugal, which ruled Azemmour from 1513 to 1541). Such designs traveled to North Africa via printed pattern books. Patterns were transferred onto fabric, then the backgrounds were covered with filling stitches: plait and cross-stitches were used here. The production of these embroideries ceased around the mid-1900s because of cost and changing fashions.
date
possibly 1700s or 1800s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79477111
genreSpecific
Embroidery
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 27.9 x 80.6 cm (11 x 31 3/4 in.)
cul
Africa, North Africa, Morocco, Azemmour, Moroccan embroiderer
accession
1916.1244
Source extras
tec
Linen, silk, and dye
tombstone
Fragment of a furnishing textile, possibly 1700s or 1800s. Africa, North Africa, Morocco, Azemmour, Moroccan embroiderer. Linen, silk, and dye; overall: 27.9 x 80.6 cm (11 x 31 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade, 1916.1244
collection
T - Islamic
relatedWorks
id
111337
description
Fragment of a furnishing textile, 1800s. Africa, North Africa, Morocco, Azemmour, Moroccan embroiderer. Linen, silk, dye; overall: 21.3 x 41.6 cm (8 3/8 x 16 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1929.843
didYouKnow
This textile represents the work of at least four individuals: the person who prepares the fibers, the weaver, the dyer, and the embroiderer.
citations
citation
Soenderholm, Ivan. "Arts of the Maghreb: North African Textiles." <em>Jozan: Oriental rug news</em>. January 30, 2025.
citation
Paydar, Niloo Imami, and Ivo Grammet. <em>The Fabric of Moroccan Life</em>. Indianapolis, Ind: Indianapolis Museum of Art, 2002.
page_number
p. 94-95
citation
Denamur, Isabelle, Pierre Ferbos, and Louise Rogers Lalaurie. <em>Moroccan textile embroidery</em>. Paris: Flammarion, 2003.
page_number
p. 184
citation
Alaoui, Rachida. <em>Florilège de la broderie marocaine</em>. [Milan]: Skira, 2011.
page_number
p. 52-53
citation
Windmuller-Luna, Kristen. “Threads across Time: African Textiles, 500-1993.” <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine </em>61, no. 1 (Winter 2021): 13.
page_number
Reproduced and Mentioned: P. 13.
creditline
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade
updatedAt
2026-05-29 05:07:32.185000
sourceId
95510
dept
Textiles
coll
T - Islamic
med
Linen, silk, and dye
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
8c748082aafa0218