Femme Juive

Femme Juive (Jewish Woman)

Postcard

Fez: N. Boumendil et Fils, ca. 1910s-30s

This colored postcard features a young Moroccan Jewish woman dressed in traditional attire, posed in a reclining position next to a decorative pillow, with a low table in front of her that is set for Moroccan tea. 

Apparently staged, this image was a product of French commercial colonial photography that produced an overwhelming number of postcards, flooding the European market in the 1910s–20s. Despite its stereotypes, postcards like these possess valuable ethnographic content, particularly regarding the traditional clothing styles of the Jewish community in Morocco.

The femme juive, or Jewish woman, on the postcard wears a long green gown hanging almost to the ground and a white kaftan (a loose-fitting, open-front garment with sleeves) over it, which is secured by a broad decorated waistband. Her long hair is plaited in a special manner and covered by a wrap tied around her head, adorned with a head coin. The model’s braid is hanging over her shoulder, her face framed by oversized, gold hoop earrings. 

Part of the series “Maroc—Scènes et Types” (“Morocco—Scenes and Types”), the postcard was produced by Léon & Lévy (LL), a Paris-based printing house and photograph publishing company. The postcard itself was printed by N. (Nathan) Boumendil et Fils in Fez, Morocco.

The history of the Jewish community in Morocco spans more than two millennia. It is believed that the first Jews settled the area after the destruction of either the First Temple (587 BCE) or the Second Temple (70 CE). Another massive wave of Jews seeking safe haven reached the region after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain and Portugal in 1492. Cities such as Marrakech, Fez, Casablanca, Tangier, Rabat, and Essaouira historically served as the largest Jewish centers, where the Jews lived in enclosed quarters known as mellahs (“salt” in Arabic). 

Over the centuries, the attire of the Jews in Morocco absorbed various influences due to the country’s location at the crossroads of Africa and the Middle East, as well as its history. Its blend of Islamic, North African, and Sephardic European traditions is characterized by beautiful patterns and colors of fabric, opulent ceremonial costumes, sophisticated embroidery, and meticulous attention to jewelry and accessories.