Man’s hooded cape (akhnif)

In the southern Atlas Mountains, the akhnif, a hooded cape, was a standard man’s garment worn by both Muslims and Jews. It was typically black, and there was an intricate woven orange decoration on the back in a pattern resembling an eye. In compliance with local laws, Jews wore the garment inside out so as to mark them as Jews. Thus only the dangling threads of the inner side were visible, and only when the akhnif was rolled up to the shoulders was the pattern revealed in all its splendor.

Credit: Gift of Baroness Alix de Rothschild, Paris