Antique Berber Henna-Dyed Woman’s Ceremonial Head Scarf
A very finely woven wool veil of an unusual format, with a design composed of three small circles set against an open field background, sparsely embellished with touches of embroidery in white cotton. Veils such as these are called takenboukht, and were employed as head covers during the wedding ceremony among the Moroccan Berber people inhabiting the region of Fouim Zguid, located south of the central section of the High Atlas mountains. The pattern, which resembles the features of a human face, is obtained with the resist-technique using henna pigments, which are present here in two shades, a characteristic burnt orange and a maroon red. Conserved on a black cotton backing and mounted on a wooden stretcher. A true work of minimalist tribal art.