Woman’s Head Covering (tamandilt)
- Culture
- Amazigh (Berber) artist
- Date
- early to mid-20th century
- Material
- Wool, indigo, natural dyes
- Classification
- Costume & clothing, textiles
- Collection
- Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- Includes 6 inch long self- fringe at bottom.: 41 1/2 × 34 in. (105.4 × 86.4 cm)
- Credit Line
- Funds given by the Third Wednesday Group and Director's Discretionary Fund
- Rights
- Contact Us
- Object Number
- 20:2017
NOTES
Despite the fanciful fringe and pattern of bright starbursts across an indigo ground, this cloth served a quiet purpose. An Amazigh woman wore it as a simple headscarf for everyday activities or occasionally as a base layer under a more ornate, embroidered head covering. This scarf was handmade from start to finish, beginning with wool threads spun by hand from the fleece of sheep raised by Amazigh shepherds. Women artisans wove the threads on a rectangular frame loom, and tie- and spot-dyed the cloth with plant-based dyes.
Provenance
John Gillow, Cambridge, United Kingdom
before 1996 - 2016
Barbarine Rich, Santa Fe, NM, USA, acquired from John Gillow [1]
2016 - 2017
Duncan Clarke, London, England, acquired from Barbarine Rich [2]
2017 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Duncan Clarke [3]
Notes:
[1] According to Duncan Clarke, this object was purchased by John Gillow of Cambridge in Tunisia. Clarke acquired the object in 2016 from Barbarine Rich of Santa Fe, who had owned it for over 20 years [notes of telephone conversation between Duncan Clarke and Museum curator Nichole Bridges, October 25, 2016, SLAM document files].
[2] See Note [1].
[3] An invoice dated March 1, 2017 from Duncan Clarke to the Saint Louis Art Museum documents the purchase of this object, listed as "Berber shawl, Tunisia" [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, March 20, 2017.
before 1996 - 2016
Barbarine Rich, Santa Fe, NM, USA, acquired from John Gillow [1]
2016 - 2017
Duncan Clarke, London, England, acquired from Barbarine Rich [2]
2017 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Duncan Clarke [3]
Notes:
[1] According to Duncan Clarke, this object was purchased by John Gillow of Cambridge in Tunisia. Clarke acquired the object in 2016 from Barbarine Rich of Santa Fe, who had owned it for over 20 years [notes of telephone conversation between Duncan Clarke and Museum curator Nichole Bridges, October 25, 2016, SLAM document files].
[2] See Note [1].
[3] An invoice dated March 1, 2017 from Duncan Clarke to the Saint Louis Art Museum documents the purchase of this object, listed as "Berber shawl, Tunisia" [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, March 20, 2017.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.