Embroidery from Algiers

This long piece of raw linen is decorated with a series of almond-shaped floral themes, composed of a double crown of lacy corolla. Other pointed corolla are interspersed among these motifs, starting at the edges. All these designs are embroidered in polychrome silk threads, in bias stitching (ma’alka) for the main cloth and knotted stitches for the braided edges. Red and blue are its dominant colours.

This embroidery comes from a strip of curtain. It may have once been connected with braids to other bands of fabric and hung inside the house for greater privacy. In its current shape, it could also have hung alongside other similar bands of cloth, or perhaps over a mirror or sofa. Similar embroideries were employed as wall hangings (in this case, the support tended to be thicker), but also as vestments: scarves, tanchifa; or beniqa: head-coverings for the hammam.

In the late Middle Ages, the arrival of the Moors ousted from Spain gave rise to a silk industry. A growing interest in embroideries came from seeing the fine clothing worn by Ottoman officials and their wives, beginning in the 16th century[1]. In the early 15th century, embroidered tapestries triumphed in Istanbul, most notably in the Topkapi Palace. They covered clothing and furniture and some of the nihale rugs were made by professional embroiders. In the large Algerian harems, this fashion was mostly in the hands of women, women who came from all over the Mediterranean and who sought to develop something that would stand out from what was being made locally.

The repertoire used here is of the “imperial” type. Crowns with flames and heraldic bouquets did not originally stem from the imaginations of embroiders but from the ornamentalists of the large textile manufacturers. Such models can be seen in the luxury textiles produced during the 16th century in the Italian workshops of Genova, Florence, Lucca and Venice, textiles that captivated the Ottoman courts by their splendour. Some of these textiles appealed to the seraglio to such an extent that it is virtually impossible, in many cases, to know whether they are Turkish or European[2]. Their sophisticated themes, originally conceived for skilled craftsmen, were reproduced by the Algerians by means of a canvas, a frame and a needle[3].

There are two distinct styles, one illustrated by the tanchifa of the Black Virgin at the Chartres cathedral (cf. document), which is characterised by its gold and violet palette and decorative motifs of lyres, most probably borrowed from Reaissance Italy and Spain[4]. The second is represented by the embroidery under discussion and is characterised by corolla with flames and strong contrasts of red and blue. This style, even if it also drew its inspiration from Italian textiles, has a more “oriental” feel to it because of its strong colour scheme. It also reveals surprising ties to productions from Anatolia and Central Asia.

[2] This Ottoman domination, which lasted for over three hundred years (1518-1830), came from the sea: the people of Algiers, in order to stave off the threat of the Spanish armada, sought protection from the Turkish corsairs, who in turn took advantage of the situation to seize power over the country, turning Algiers over to the Sultan of Istanbul. Initially, it was proclaimed the State of Algiers, administered by a beyler-bey (a general governor), then, in 1587, it became a regency. Over the course of time, it was conferred to the rule of the Pachas, the Beys and the Deys.

[3] Three circles of production should be considered here: that of the harems—the initiators of fashions and guardians of the “imperial” motifs, that of rich Algerian families who exchanged and passed down certain forms and techniques, and that of the urban workshops. In this regard, we will recall the observations of the Frenchman Ventury de Paradis who was in Algiers in 1789: “Algerians are drawn to embroidery; men and women alike put them on their clothes and pay dearly for them”. How is it possible that the production was purely private if these needs were satisfied?

[4] We could refer to the caftan, most likely woven in the West, that was depicted in the portrait of Orkhan II, painted by the Veronese atelier (Munich art gallery), or the Italian caftan belonging to Murad IV (1623-1640), in conservation at the Topkapi Palace (inv. 13/838), on which the fleuron unfurl in loops, or study the example of a Tuscan cloth, with its Christian theme, in Lyon’s textile museum, that has the same opulent vegetal motifs as this embroidery.