Palestinian Costume – Sheilagh Weir – The British Museum Press Edition (Hardcover)

Palestinian Costume

by Sheilagh Weir

The traditional costumes of the Palestinian villagers and Bedouin are of exceptional beauty and diversity, especially the festive costumes of the women with their lavish silk embroidery and patchwork and their dramatic headdresses encrusted with coins. This book surveys male and female fashions from the early nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth, and describes the main regional styles of costume, their materials and ornamentation, against the background of Palestinian life and culture. The emphasis throughout the book is on the social and symbolic significance of costume, and the final chapters analyze in detail the language of costume in the context of the wedding. The book is based on extensive field research the author has conducted at intervals since 1967 among Palestinians in Israel, the Occupied Territories, and Jordan. The illustrations include studio photographs of magnificent garments in museum collections, archive photographs from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and recent photographs of costumes still made and worn.

Shelagh Weir, former curator for Middle East Ethnography at the Museum of Mankind (British Museum), organized major exhibitions of Palestinian costumes and textiles at the museum. She is the most prominent specialist in Palestinian costumes and embroidery and the author of numerous books.

Language: English
ISBN: 9780714115979
2004, 3rd Impression, Hardcover, 288 pages

Published by The British Museum Press