Chefchaouén, colloquially known as “The Blue City” for its striking, blue-washed buildings, is nestled in the Rif Mountains of northern Morocco. In the 16th century, its proximity to Spain made it a natural refuge for Jewish and Muslim communities expelled from Andalusia by Charles V. Many of these refugees were skilled artisans with expertise in textile production and sericulture.
The Moorish aesthetic of Andalusian Spain was gradually integrated into the embroidery traditions of Chefchaouén. Strong Islamic artistic influences are evident in the geometric repetition and interlaced eight-pointed star motifs — design elements found across the city’s architecture, ceramics and textiles.
In the 18th century, a visitor to a well-appointed home in Chefchaouén might have seen vibrant embroideries like this fragment from the Cotsen Textile Traces Study Collection. Created by women and girls, such work adorned the edges of seat cushions, wall hangings and bed covers. The linen ground on this example is densely covered in silk thread, creating a rich, raised surface that reflects the skill of its maker.
Although the embroidery tradition in Morocco declined in the 19th and 20th centuries, efforts to revive it are now underway in urban workshops across the country.
Researched by Barbara Steele
Barbara Steele has been a docent with the museum since 2014. A clinical social worker, she also worked many years in a large high school library. Her interest and appreciation for textiles began at a young age, when her family lived in Egypt and Türkiye.