Circa 1840-1850. Probably Genoese.The cotton ground block printed with a tree of life design, the branches heavy with exotic flowers above rising hillocks, and with a variety of animals and birds.The term mezzaro possibly derives from the Arabic ‘mi’zar’, meaning to cover, and references in 16th century Genoese inventories to a ‘mezaro turchino’ and to ‘meizari due Indiane’ indicate their origin via the thriving oriental commerce of the port. Production of mezzari of the present type had commenced in Genoa by the late 18th century and thrived in the first half of the following century. Although they must have served a variety of purposes, contemporary images show women wearing them as shawls, often attached at the crown of their heads with a silver clasp (a method which had the effect that, in many cases, the cotton is weak or damaged at the centre). They were made to set designs, the majority inspired by Indian palampores and giving prominence to a central flowering tree. The ...