DepartmentTextiles-Middle East
Thobe
NameDress
Artist
Artist Not Recorded
CulturePalestinian
Dateca. 1930s
Place madeQibya and Budrus villages, West Bank, Palestine Territory, Middle East or West Asia, Asia
Mediumcotton, silk
Dimensionsoverall: 1 M 30.8 CM X 1 M 35.5 CM
Credit LineIFAF Collection
Object numberFA.1972.25.16
Collections
A. 72.25-16 Thob (1930s) This dress is from the region around the villages of Qibya and Budrus, about halfway between Jaffa and Ramallah where the Coastal Plain meets the foothills of Judaea. The transitional nature of this zone is reflected in the eclecticism of the styling. The cut of the dress with its long narrow sleeves is that of the Coastal Plain. Although the structure of the qabbeh is similar to that of Ramallah, most of the embroidery follows the general trend of the 1930s toward stylized floral motifs untypical of any specific area of Palestine. Most of the designs could have originated anywhere–Turkey, Greece, North Africa, or even as faraway as the Slavic countries and Scandinavia. The embroidered vertical bands on both of the side seams depict double rows of lilies or irises (zambūq). The double rows of floral motifs are framed on both sides in a plant design similar to the cauliflower (zahra) and are topped by three birds. The diyāl has very large flower pots and a central band of flowers and curved branches running horizontally. This latter pattern is called el-ferq el-jadid (“the new branch”). The embroidery is mainly red silk cross stitch with highlights in gold, pink, green, and blue. The hem is edged with multicolored fish-bone stitching, and the neckline is bound with multicolored cotton thread. The seams are joined with the knotted buttonhole stitch under the arms to the hip, where the embroidered bands begin. From the hip, they are joined with multicolored double flat stitch. Length: 129 cm. Width: 84 cm. (Palestinian Costume and Jewelry, Yedida Kalfon Stillman, 1979 ISBN: 0-82630490-7)
