Strategically located on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, Algeria reflects the legacies of many empires. It was a center of trade and commerce during Ottoman rule from 1516 until its colonization by France in the 1830s. Embroidered textiles created in coastal cities during this period were strongly influenced by Turkish designs and those from Syria, Persia and Italy.
Distinctive Algerian designs also developed. Known as “Algiers Blue and Red” and “Algiers Purple,” these styles are characterized by large, embroidered silk floral forms — typically artichokes and pomegranates symbolizing fertility and abundance — on undyed linen or cotton muslin.
While some metallic-thread embroidery was done by men in workshops, needlework and embroidery were important home activities for well-to-do urban women and girls. Designs were marked on muslin panels in pencil, stretched on wooden legged frames called “gourgaf” and stitched with domestically produced or imported silk.
The finished textile panels were displayed in the interiors of homes. This example from The Textile Museum Collection may have been part of a mattress or pillow cover. Others were joined together with French silk ribbons to create stunning doorway curtains that allowed light to enter and provided privacy.
Detail of mattress or pillow fragment.
French colonization and the growing availability of industrially produced textiles led to the demise of Ottoman-influenced domestic embroidery. The Luce Ben Aben School in Algiers was an exception. The school trained Muslim girls in traditional Algerian embroidery, with some of their skilled students appearing in the London Exhibition of 1862 and the 1893 world’s fair in Chicago.
