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Lot Essay
This type of woven panels relate to earlier Nasrid, Merinid and Sa'di textiles. See for instance a panel that sold at Christie's, 7 April 2011, lot 121 and the two following panels: one published as from Fez by John Gillow (African Textiles, London, 2009) and the other in the Arts Institute of Chicago, inv.no.2003.105 (https://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/181173?search_id=7=0) attributed possibly to Spain or Turkey, 15th/16th century.
However, seventeen Tunisian textiles purchased by the Victoria and Albert Museum at the Tunis stand of the 1851 Great Exhibition offer the best comparable examples. They are finely woven silks, often women's veils or men's sashes. Although silk was mostly imported to Tunisia, there had been silk weaving guilds since the twelfth century and complex treadle looms were used in professional workshops. One of the common motifs decorated these textiles is the Khamsa or 'Hand' used as an apotropaic symbol, against the evil eye. For a discussion on the Tunis Stand at the 1851 exhibition and the display of Tunisian textiles, see https://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/tunisian-textiles-at-the-great-exhibition/.
However, seventeen Tunisian textiles purchased by the Victoria and Albert Museum at the Tunis stand of the 1851 Great Exhibition offer the best comparable examples. They are finely woven silks, often women's veils or men's sashes. Although silk was mostly imported to Tunisia, there had been silk weaving guilds since the twelfth century and complex treadle looms were used in professional workshops. One of the common motifs decorated these textiles is the Khamsa or 'Hand' used as an apotropaic symbol, against the evil eye. For a discussion on the Tunis Stand at the 1851 exhibition and the display of Tunisian textiles, see https://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/tunisian-textiles-at-the-great-exhibition/.