DepartmentTextiles-Asia

Yelek

NameCoat-dress

Artist Artist Not Recorded

CulturePalestinian

Dateca. 1850-1880

Place madeAleppo, Syria, Middle East or West Asia, Asia

Mediumindigo dyed linen, silk embroidery

Credit LineGift of Florence Dibell Bartlett

Object numberA.1955.86.922

Collections

Palestinian Dress and Jewelry

DescriptionOrnately embroidered womens coat that would be worn tighly around the body. The embroidery is mainly an orange-red color on a dark blue indigo linen fabric. Three white glass buttons for the front closure, and mulitcolored tufts of fringe around the bottom hems.

Old #3361 Yelek (1850-80) (Fig. 5 and Plate 2) This beautiful yelek is from Aleppo in Syria. It is of handwoven, indigo blue linen. It is almost entirely covered with multicolored silk embroidery. The embroidery is mainly cross stitch supplemented with chain, laced Cretan, and fish-bone stitches. The most repeated motif is the northern version of the palm tree (nakhleh) on the sleeves, skirt front, side panels, and back. On the shoulders, around the wrists, and on the ovals embroidered on both front panels is a design in small squares known in Arabic embroidery as bizer (“seeds”). Along the sides of the neckline the bizer forms concentric diamonds. A border of triangles runs around all of the edges which, except for the neckline, are decorated with tufts of fringe. Small blue beads are sewn around the neckline. There are four white buttons below the bosom. The two front panels and back are composed of three pieces each. The main panels are straight. On either side of these panels is a gore to achieve the flare. The gores at center front reach from the ankle to the breast opening. The gores on both sides of the slit-which opens to the knee-reach to the hip. Length: 133 cm. Width: 69 cm. (Palestinian Costume and Jewelry, Yedida Kalfon Stillman, 1979 ISBN: 0-82630490-7)