Furnishing textile (1800s): Art, History and Details

Furnishing textile (1800s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This densely embroidered textile was possibly used as a pillow cover. The elongated motifs have been interpreted by scholars as trees, storks, or minarets (tall towers of a mosque). The use of these motifs is sometimes referred to as the "Old Salé" style, named for the city in which it was made.

Object facts

• Title: Furnishing textile
• Date: 1800s
• Culture: Africa, North Africa, Morocco, Salé, Moroccan embroiderer
• Type: Embroidery
• Technique: Cotton, silk, dye
• Dimensions: Overall: 46.7 x 88.9 cm (18 3/8 x 35 in.)
• Collection: T - Islamic
• Department: Textiles
• Accession number: 1939.451

Collection credit

Gift of Selma V. Sullivan

Further reading listed by the museum

• Stone, Caroline. The Embroideries of North Africa. Burnt Mill, Harlow, Essex: Longman, 1985.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.