The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 25, 2024

Bridal wedding sash

Bridal wedding sash

1800s
lampas, warps dyed on the loom: silk
Overall: 396.8 x 38 cm (156 1/4 x 14 15/16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1999.253
Location: not on view

Description

Elaborate wedding sashes woven in Fez, Morocco, are distinctive for their multiple colors, designs, and uses. Folded lengthwise, they are wrapped around the waist so that the colors and designs coordinate with the attire worn during and after a wedding. Typically, the colors vary on each half whereas the designs are the same. Luxury textiles with elaborate patterns were woven on large looms called drawlooms that automatically repeated designs. The weaver operated the structure, inserting horizontal wefts, while the drawboy activated the programmed pattern. However, this wedding sash has ten programmed designs, which required considerable expertise.
  • Paydar, Niloo Imami, and Ivo Grammet. The Fabric of Moroccan Life. Indianapolis, Ind: Indianapolis Museum of Art, 2002. p. 110-117
    Alaoui, Rachida. Florilège de la broderie marocaine. [Milan]: Skira, 2011. p. 35-37
    Mackie, Louise W. Symbols of Power: Luxury Textiles from Islamic Lands, 7th-21st Century. Cleveland; New Haven: Cleveland Museum of Art; Yale University Press, 2015. Reproduced: P. 40-41, fig. 1.24; Mentioned: P. 40
  • Islamic art rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 16, 2015-December 19, 2016).
  • {{cite web|title=Bridal wedding sash|url=false|author=|year=1800s|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1999.253