DepartmentTextiles-Asia

Smadeh

NameMarried woman's headdress

Artist Artist unrecorded

Datec. 1860

Place madeRamallah, West Bank, Palestine Territory, Middle East or West Asia, Asia

Place collectedJerusalem

MediumCotton, silver, silk

Dimensions16 9/16 × 10 5/8 in. (42 × 27 cm)

Credit LineMuseum of International Folk Art, gift of Florence Dibell Bartlett, A.1955.1.276 SW

Object numberA.1955.1.276 SW

Collections

DescriptionRed cotton with chain chinstrap and coins.

Old #1712 Şmādeh (ca. 1860) (Fig. 23) This cap has silk cross stitch embroidery, mostly in the distinctive Ramallah red, on the back. The heavy, stiff rim at the front supports one hundred Ottoman coins which bear the dates A.H. 1203, 1223, and 1277 (A.D. 1788–89, 1808–9, and 1858–59, respectively). The inner rim has sixty smaller coins which form the fringe in the front. Some of these are gold and are placed in the center. Heavy red silk thread attaches the inner coins to yellow and purple braiding. The silver chain has a decorative knob at the center, from which a large Ottoman coin is suspended. Diameter: 27 cm. (Palestinian Costume and Jewelry, Yedida Kalfon Stillman, 1979 ISBN: 0-82630490-7)