A Rabat floss silk embroidered curtain panel (izar), Central Morocco

The tradition of embroidery in Rabat is heavily influenced by the Andalusian tradition, brought to Rabat in the late 16th and early 17th century by the Moorish refugees who fled Spain after the Reconquista, both in its techniques and in the motifs employed. Izar are the diaphanous curtains which hung in the archways at the entrances to the living quarters of the Rabati houses.  For a similar example to the offered lot, please see Paydar, N.I. & Grammet, I. ed., The Fabric of Moroccan Life, Indianapolis Museum of Art, 2002, p.74, a curtain from the Eliza M. and Sarah L.Niblack Collection, Inv. No. 1819.76.1