Bethlehem region dress inserts all couch embroidered (tahreeri) on silk taffeta (hermzi) with foil and silk thread.  In the purple and orange silk sleeve inserts, very subtle and discreet square crosses could be discerned in the centre of the middle clock (sa’a) motif and a long cross in the top part of each. It is also the case with the red...

Covering the crown of the head and keeping one’s hair under control was a practice common amongst all Palestinians regardless of gender, religion or class.  A common saying in Arabic which goes ‘she’s going around with her hair undone’ was commonly used to refer to women with questionable comings and goings or noticeable and unquestioned...

Covering the crown of the head and keeping one’s hair under control was a practice common amongst all Palestinians regardless of gender, religion or class. A common saying in Arabic which goes ‘she’s going around with her hair undone’ was commonly used to refer to women with questionable comings and goings or noticeable and...

Covering the crown of the head and keeping one’s hair under control was a practice common amongst all Palestinians regardless of gender, religion or class. A common saying in Arabic which goes ‘she’s going around with her hair undone’ was commonly used to refer to women with questionable comings and goings or noticeable and...

By conspicuously removing, concealing or destroying the most visible symbols of wealth in their attire, women demonstrated their genuine and unquestionable grief. Snubbing wealth in times of loss was a clear statement that life was invaluable.
Seen as the most direct and blatant reference to wealth, coins on the...

Usually associated with unmarried and sexually immature women, blue seemed to refer to a state of sexual inactivity. A colour found in dresses worn by widowed women, young girls and older post-menstrual women, blue was seen and treated as an opposite to red. In the case of widows in mourning, it was believed that when a red motif appeared in...

Usually associated with unmarried and sexually immature women, blue seemed to refer to a state of sexual inactivity. A colour found in dresses worn by widowed women, young girls and older post-menstrual women, blue was seen and treated as an opposite to red. In the case of widows in mourning, it was believed that when a red...

Usually associated with unmarried and sexually immature women, blue seemed to refer to a state of sexual inactivity. A colour found in dresses worn by widowed women, young girls and older post-menstrual women, blue was seen and treated as an opposite to red. In the case of widows in mourning, it was believed that when a red motif appeared in...

Dresses made with fabrics woven with the inclusion of green and red or pink silk bands along the edge close to the selvedge, or entirely comprised of strips of alternating green and red silk were generally referred to as heaven and hell dresses (thob janneh-u-nar).  Green referred to heaven (janneh) and red or pink to hell (nar), literally...

Dresses made with fabrics woven with the inclusion of green and red or pink silk bands along the edge close to the selvedge, or entirely comprised of strips of alternating green and red silk were generally referred to as heaven and hell dresses (thob janneh-u-nar).  Green referred to heaven (janneh) and red or pink to hell (nar), literally...

This cabinet shows the transition of the amulet tubes known as cucumbers (khiarat) along with the triangles from the purely functional to the purely aesthetic. Originally used to house and contain talismanic scripts and paper amulets to be worn on the body, they became items created simply for their aesthetic value, to be worn as jewellery. In...