Embroidered Mirror Cover

Tetouan, a city in northern Morocco, was established in the 14th century. In 1399 it was destroyed and its inhabitants exiled to Spain. In 1492, after the fall of Grenada, many of the Jewish and Muslim exiles returned, bringing with them the Hispano Moresque traditions. In the 17th century under Ottoman rule, trading with the Middle East flourished bringing eastern influence as well. Tetouan embroidery is unlike any other Moroccan embroidery. The work is done with long satin stitches, it is double sided and the drawing style is close to Uzbek suzanis and Turkish embroidery. The ornamentation is floral, freehand drawn and quite abstracted. Mirror covers, or tensifas, are peculiarly Tetouan. They are long pieces of textile that were used to wrap mirrors during festive occasions to ward off the evil eye. They are decorated mostly on their shorter ends, with narrow floral border on one additional long edge.