Altar frontal called the “Witches' Cloth”

The ‘Witches' Cloth' or ‘Witches Canopy' is an Andalusian fabric which, according to tradition, was used as an altar frontal. It has two alternating decorative bands. The bottom one and the top one, which are repeated, show pairs of peacocks, separated by the 'hom' or tree of life, with their tails open. The middle band shows pairs of imaginary animals with a lion's body, a bird's wings, a harpy's talons and a tail in the form of a snake with panther's heads; the two heads joined together outline the appearance of a face at once human and animal and give rise to the fabric's name. It is part of a group of Andalusian fabrics from the 11th and 12th centuries, characterised by being made with the same technique, the same colours and same decoration of alternating bands of animals facing each other.