Name/Title
Embroidered Pillow (early 20th Century)Entry/Object ID
2022.117Tags
Bayt wa BaladDescription
Embroidery, or "tatreez", was typically used to ornament dresses and garments -- a highly prized object in a Palestinian woman's life once completed. When a dress is no longer wearable, it is culturally frowned upon to discard the embroidery. Instead, Palestinian women reused and recycled the embroidery onto pillows, tablecloths and various household items. This pillow was made from an embroidered chest panel that appears to have been originally produced in the early 20th century for an Al-Khalil (Hebron) dress. It become a pillow by 1972, when it was purchased by an American tourist in Jerusalem.Collection
Permanent CollectionMade/Created
Date made
circa 1900 - circa 1948Time Period
20th CenturyEthnography
Notes
Was once the embroidered chest panel of a traditional Palestinian dress.Dimensions
Height
11-1/2 inWidth
10 inRelationships
Related Places
Notes
type: travel
date: 1972
certainty: precise
notes: Fragment was made into a pillow and sold in a tourist marketplace in Jerusalem.Notes
type: travel
date: 1972
certainty: precise
notes: The donor purchased the pillow and brought it back to her home in Washington, DC.Notes
type: travel
date: 2022
certainty: precise
notes: Marla Bush donated the object to the museum.