A 'GAZA AREA' PALESTINIAN EMBROIDERED THOBE DRESS Rafah or Majdal,...
A 'GAZA AREA' PALESTINIAN EMBROIDERED THOBE DRESS
Rafah or Majdal, Gaza area, Palestine, 1960s-1970s
Woman’s dress (thob) with narrow sleeves, made from navy linen, with vertical pink lines running down the front and side, the chest ornament is richly embroidered (tatreez) worked in dense red cross-stitch with accents of orange, purple, green and yellow, including interlocking geometric stars and diamond motifs, as well as stylized vegetal forms.
127.5cm x 136.5cm arm to arm
Palestinian tatreez patterns express the maker’s relationship with her village and society, while the materials and techniques she uses attest to her regional identity and individual personality, contributing to a storytelling tradition inherited by Palestinian women from generation to generation. This is likely a dress made in a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip in the 1960s, incorporating an older chest-plaque insert.
Literature:
Munayyer, H.K., Traditional Palestinian Costume: Origins and Evolution. Northampton, MA: Olive Branch Press/Interlink Publishing, 2020.
Skinner, M., Palestinian Embroidery Motifs: A Treasure of Stitches 1850-1950. London: Melisende, 2007.
Weir, S., Palestinian Costume. Northampton, MA: Interlink Books, 2009.
A 'GAZA AREA' PALESTINIAN EMBROIDERED THOBE DRESS
Rafah or Majdal, Gaza area, Palestine, 1960s-1970s
Woman’s dress (thob) with narrow sleeves, made from navy linen, with vertical pink lines running down the front and side, the chest ornament is richly embroidered (tatreez) worked in dense red cross-stitch with accents of orange, purple, green and yellow, including interlocking geometric stars and diamond motifs, as well as stylized vegetal forms.
127.5cm x 136.5cm arm to arm
Palestinian tatreez patterns express the maker’s relationship with her village and society, while the materials and techniques she uses attest to her regional identity and individual personality, contributing to a storytelling tradition inherited by Palestinian women from generation to generation. This is likely a dress made in a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip in the 1960s, incorporating an older chest-plaque insert.
Literature:
Munayyer, H.K., Traditional Palestinian Costume: Origins and Evolution. Northampton, MA: Olive Branch Press/Interlink Publishing, 2020.
Skinner, M., Palestinian Embroidery Motifs: A Treasure of Stitches 1850-1950. London: Melisende, 2007.
Weir, S., Palestinian Costume. Northampton, MA: Interlink Books, 2009.
