Tiraz textile fragment (qasab). Egypt. Fatimid Dynasty. mid 11th century. Gauzy linen tabby with tapestry in silk and gold leaf. 980.78.111.A Wilkinson Collection, Gift of Albert and Federico Friedberg. Certified by the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board under the terms of the Cultural Property Export and Import Act.
Tiraz textile fragment (qasab). Egypt. Fatimid Dynasty. mid 11th century. Gauzy linen tabby with tapestry in silk and gold leaf. 980.78.111.A Wilkinson Collection, Gift of Albert and Federico Friedberg. Certified by the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board under the terms of the Cultural Property Export and Import Act.
Fellowship Year: 2008
Project Title: Connections between Fatimid and Andalusi Inscribed Textiles
Connections between Fatimid and Andalusi Inscribed Textiles
Dr. Ali-de-Unzaga’s research involved investigating the possibility of a connection between Andalusi and Fatimid examples of early Islamic textiles. Existing scholarship on Fatimid textiles tended to focus mainly on the tiraz, specifically their role in disseminating political or social messages, while the textiles as material objects went overlooked. In contrast, study of the Andalusi textiles tended to focus on technical descriptions of their yarn and weave structure and construction, with little to no investigation into their social and historical context. Dr. Ali-de-Unzaga sought to fill these gaps in research, and in the process illuminate the relationship between these two textile traditions and the societies from which they emerged.
About the Fellow:
Dr. Ali-de-Unzaga completed her doctorate in the anthropology of art focusing on Moroccan textiles at the University of Oxford. She had previously obtained her master’s degree in Islamic civilization from the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London. She has researched and published on Medieval North African and Andalusi textiles. During her fieldwork, she lived with a family of Moroccan Berber weavers, at which time she undertook an apprenticeship of 20 months.
Dr. Ali-de-Unzaga completed her doctorate in the anthropology of art focusing on Moroccan textiles at the University of Oxford. She had previously obtained her master’s degree in Islamic civilization from the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London. She has researched and published on Medieval North African and Andalusi textiles. During her fieldwork, she lived with a family of Moroccan Berber weavers, at which time she undertook an apprenticeship of 20 months.
Related Publications: “Fatimid Textiles,” in The Illustrated History of the Ismailis, eds. F. Daftary and Z. Hirji (London: Azimuth Editions, 2008), pp. 88, 91, 108
“Fatimid Textiles,” in The Illustrated History of the Ismailis, eds. F. Daftary and Z. Hirji (London: Azimuth Editions, 2008), pp. 88, 91, 108