MASP

Originally from the port city of Rabat, in Morocco, this decorative furnishing is made of silk thread on cotton textile using local raw materials. The oldest embroideries from Rabat to have survived the test of time date from the seventeenth century. Their iconography includes stylized human forms and geometric patterns such as squares, crosses, ovals, and spirals. Throughout the nineteenth century, vegetal forms gained popularity, as evidenced by this textile dating from approximately 1900. The lively colors form a pattern that evokes a field of flowers surrounded by an equally colorful frame. In the seventeenth century, the city became a cosmopolitan capital, mainly due to the migration of populations from Andalucía (in Spain), which had a strong impact on the manufacture of textiles. Many of the embroideries from Rabat originally emerged from the fusion of Moroccan needlework and Andalusian traditions. Appreciated for its aesthetic exuberance, this type of textile has been integrated into art museum collections, such as the Indianapolis Museum of Art in the United States.

— Mariana Leme, mestranda em teoria e história da arte, ECA-USP, e integrante da equipe de curadoria, MASP, 2019

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