Veil (Tadghart)

ClassificationsClothing and Adornments-head garments

Culture Amazigh

Dateearly 20th century

Made AtMorocco

MediumWool, resist-dyed and painted with henna

Dimensions53 × 62 in. (134.6 × 157.5 cm)

Credit LineAnonymous Gift

Object number2016.15.35

DescriptionTadghart are women’s wedding or ceremonial veils woven by the Amazigh (or Berber) people of the Central Anti-Atlas Mountains in Morocco. They are made of wool and dyed with henna. A typical tadghart design involves a rectangle or circle of henna with a circle and rod of negative space within it. These have been assumed to act as fertility symbolism; they typically adorn the part of the veil that covers the back of the neck, drawing the eye toward them. This imagery has survived from the Stone and Bronze Ages. Silk pompom decorations pierce the sides of the tadghart along the weft.
The lives of women are intricately linked with weaving in Berber culture: practices and designs are passed from mothers to daughters, and textiles often act as riddles or metaphors alluding to themes such as reproduction and aging.

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