Jillāyeh
NameDress
Artist
Artist Not Recorded
Dateca. 1850
Place madeHistoric Palestine, Middle East/West Asia, Asia
MediumIndigo dyed linen, silk embroidery, silk applique
DimensionsLength: 146 cm. Width: 88 cm
Credit LineGift of Florence Dibell Bartlett
Object numberA.1955.86.917
DescriptionJillāyeh (ca. 1850) (Fig. 31 and Plate 20) Old #3356. This ceremonial overgarment belongs to a type that was worn from Isdud to Gaza until the early 1900s. It is of indigo handwoven linen and has much more embroidery than most twentieth-century dresses from this area. The V-neck has a full qabbeh which ends in the typical qelayed of the Isdud region. The upper half of the gabbeh consists of the cushion or pillow motif (mekhaddeh or wisādeh) with a border of combs (mushūt). These same motifs are repeated in various arrangements on the side panels of the skirt. The diyal repeats the chevrons of qelayed, which are topped with a row of combs, above which is a row of feathers (rish). These are followed by a row of hijāb (“amulets”); at the apex of each is a southern version of the cypress. It is noteworthy that there are five clusters of feathers, five amulets, and five cypresses. Five is considered throughout the Islamic world to be the most efficacious prophylactic number against the Evil Eye. The outside of each sleeve has two parallel bands of embroidery, one consisting of the motif called miftāḥ khalil (“key of Hebron") in Judaea and the other a variant of the comb motif. The embroidery is mainly red silk cross stitch with some orange and green highlights. Scalloped appliqué of atlas and heremsy silk border the slit on the skirt front. The appliqué is attached to the ground cloth with zigzag silk embroidery. Length: 146 cm. Width: 88 cm. (Palestinian Costume and Jewelry, Yedida Kalfon Stillman, 1979 ISBN: 0-82630490-7)
