COUNTER COVER 16

THE “PAJARITA”, a symbol of the Serrano women who embroider

The “pajarita serrana” is possibly the most widely represented animal in popular Serrano embroidery. These delicate flying figures are often crowned by a three-leafed plume, which could be an evolution of the headdress worn by queens in the Sasanian Empire (second Persian Empire), prior to the Muslim conquest. These Eastern motifs share many similarities with the iconographic aesthetics of Serrano embroidery.

Their ability to fly makes birds symbolic messengers between heaven and earth. They also represent freedom of thought, emotional states and connection with souls, as flight implies liberation from the physical and material restrictions of the world.

A thin, wispy branch usually emerges from the beak and takes on a wavy, meandering movement, occupying the rest of the surface to leave the animal wrapped in leaves and flowers. This image is a good example of the ‘horror vacui’, a fear of leaving empty, unembroidered spaces. This is proof of the Arabic influence on embroidery in the Sierra de Francia.