Name/Title
Embroidered Pillow (early 20th Century)Entry/Object ID
2022.118Tags
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 skirt panel that appears to have been originally produced in the early 20th century for an Al-Khalil (Hebron) dress. Perhaps, it is connected to the same dress as featured in object 2022.117. What is certain, however, is that 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 skirt panel of a traditional Palestinian dress.Relationships
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.