Ritual Bath Towel

Public baths, or Hammam, aside from keeping urban population clean also served many social functions such as pre wedding rituals and births. As such a visit to the Hamman necessitated a  wide range of accessories – robes, towels and platform clogs to mention a few.

This ritual towel is woven in supplementary-weft technique out of polychrome silk in a geometric pattern. It is outlined on the longer sides with green, and the shorter edges are black and gold. The center is mostly red with white and gold designs woven with silk.

For identical towel see “Textiles of the Islamic World” by John Gillow, page 102.