Azemmour silk embroidery on linen depicting spider plant and pomegranates motif

Azemmour (Morocco), late 18th century AD

Height: 26 cm Width: 103 cm (Framed Height: 43,5 cm Width: 120 cm)

This exquisite 18th-century silk embroidery on linen comes from Azemmour, a historic Moroccan town on the Atlantic coast known for its refined textile tradition.

During the 16th to 18th centuries, trade routes and contacts between the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula and the Christian Mediterranean led to a remarkable aesthetic fusion. These works show clear influences from Andalusian Mudejar embroidery, with its rhythmic symmetries and taste for ornamental repetition, as well as affinities with the embroidery of Assisi in central Italy, famous for its “punto Assisi” technique, which reverses the negative and positive of the design to create balanced and luminous compositions.

In this example, in which the European influence is most prominent, stylised floral motifs alternate with geometric compositions that evoke both Islamic arabesques and Mediterranean Renaissance sensibilities. The combination of mathematical discipline and manual delicacy makes this work a perfect synthesis between the two shores of the sea: the Maghreb and Europe.

The embroidery shows no significant damage or alteration. It has been sewn onto a backing for framing – it can be easily unstitched without leaving any marks.

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