Palestinian Costume [Hardcover]

Rajab (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0710302835 | ISBN-13: 978-0710302830 | Publication Date: January 4, 1989

Textiles and embroidery have long played a central part in Palestinian life, and since for many centuries the land has been a meeting place of different cultures, an exceptionally rich variety of styles has developed there. Jehan Rajab looks at the garments worn by three distinct groups: the Baladin, or townsfolk, who made up the sophisticated, commercial population and were most open to foreign influences, the Fellahin or villagers, from who came the most beautiful embroideries and the Bedu, who's embroidery and clothes were influenced by village styles but had their own individual features. She examines in detail the finest needlework, much of which originated from Ramallah, Bethlehem and Hebron, and seeks to explain the amuletic or tribal significance of the great variety of embroidery motifs. Palestinian Costume provides a wealth of information and illustration of this great tradition, and in addition provides many practical details of stitches and the technical aspects of Palestinian needlecraft.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Routledge (January 4, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0710302835
• ISBN-13: 978-0710302830
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #717,132 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A glimpse at something precious, something special., February 17, 2000

By 

jeni allenby (the Palestine Costume Archive, Canberra) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Palestinian Costume (Hardcover)

Jehan Rajab's 'Palestinian Costume' is one of a tiny handful of books on this subject, and it has become a classic. It is based on the collection of Palestinian costume held at the beautiful Tareq Rajab Museum in Kuwait - and the fact that that collection still exists after the Gulf War is a miracle in itself. (for those interested in that particular story I direct you to Jehan's book "Invasion Kuwait"). Indeed this book was to have been the first of three, the others discussing Syrian and Jordanian costume, but all Jehan's notes and research were destroyed during the war. This makes this book even more precious.

In format, it covers the costumes regionally, concluding with a chapter on jewelery and traditional embroidery motifs. Many original photos have been used, as well as careful studio shots of the garments. The text is informative and interesting. The book is a must, not only for those of us working in this field, but for anyone who cares about the survival of cultural traditions.

(For those who would like to see more of the Rajab collection I recommend the Palestine Costume Archive's exhibition catalogue 'Portraits without names: Palestinian costume'. For this exhibition, which has been touring Asia and Australia since 1995, the Tareq Rajab Museum kindly lent some 50 costumes and textiles, many of which are illustrated in the catalogue).