Matmata Indigo Shawl

Berber women of southern Tunisia wear square or rectangle shawls as a head and upper body covering. They are woven of wool with supplementary cotton which supplies the decorative element. The motifs are derived from traditional silver jewelry and henna body painting. After the shawl is woven it gets dyed in red for newly wed bride and blue or black for older women.The wool absorbs the dye while the cotton remains white and the result is white patterning against darker ground.This finely woven example is very finely woven and dyed with indigo.