Unknown Maker, Tunisian

This veil was made for a Bedouin woman’s wedding ceremony. Figurative and geometric patterns shine in metal atop orange silk on one side and green on the other, complicating the sheer fabric and concealing the bride’s face from onlookers. Birds and fish along the edges symbolize fertility, and below each fleur de lis in the top corners is an abstracted khamsa, or hand-shaped symbol. This ancient protective motif is shared by Islam, Judaism, and pre-Abrahamic religions across North Africa and West Asia. The metal embroidery technique used here was once unique to Jewish populations around the Mediterranean Sea, but within the last century it has become more widely adopted.