This striking resist-dye headscarf is a type rarely seen and worn today, except perhaps by elderly women in Berber villages in southern Tunisia. It was wrapped around a woman's head or braids, and may have been concealed beneath another head cloth or veil. This scarf's bold black and red patterning is resist-dyed and employs the technique known as sprang, a finger-controlled technique that is especially suited to stretchy fabric formed by the twisting of select warp threads around each other. Sprang fabric is characterized by its stretchiness and its symmetry that is achieved in the twisting process. While there are two main types of Berber headscarves from this region, only one type has the resist-dyed patterning in red and black, which may suggest a particular village or regional distinction.
Description:
Deep red woolen sprang-constructed head tie, resist-dyed after weaving with black circular patterns on one surface. There is a thick horizontal braided ridge, characteristic of the sprang technique, at the midpoint of the cloth where the construction from each end meets.
Provenance:
Dr. Alain Gateaux, Paris
Andres Moraga, -- to 2007
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