Description
This fabric pouch was used to store the tefillin (phylacteries) between prayer services, and was often matched with the talit pouch, the prayer shawl bag. Tefillin — leather boxes containing biblical passages worn on the arm and head during morning prayer — are sacred objects requiring respectful storage. In North Africa, these pouches were embroidered in metallic thread with floral motifs and sometimes bore the owner's name, in keeping with the taste of Maghrebi embroidery. A personal object of daily prayer, the tefillin bag testifies to the care devoted to the accessories of individual worship.
