Photographer: Falak F. Shawwa
Illustrator: Chara Adamou
Format: 230 x 200 mm [Full Color]
Page: 210
Binding: Paperback
Language: English & Arabic
Publisher: Rimal Publications, Cyprus
and Melisende Publishing, UK
Year: 2007
ISBN 10: 1-901764-47-8
ISBN 13: 978-1-901764-47-5
ABOUT THIS BOOK
A book by Margarita Skinner
in association with Widad Kawar
Photography by Falak Shawwa
The tradition of embroidery is one of the great art forms of village life in Palestine. From mother to daughter, each generation added new inspirations to the traditional designs. Women would meet on market days, for family celebrations and of course at the pilgrims’ meeting places and gain muse from each other.
Margarita Skinner of Switzerland in collaboration with Widad Kawar of Jordan provides us with a glimpse into the history of embroidery, starting with the discovery of the needle some 20,000 years ago. Over 200 Palestinian motifs of the period 1850-1950 have been illustrated.
Unlike previously published books on Palestinian Embroidery, this book, Palestinian Embroidery Motifs 1850 – 1950: A Treasury of Stitches, is the first to document all the different motifs by origin and names used on the old dresses.
Margarita Skinner lived in the Middle East for over twenty years and during that time volunteered in several Palestinian women’s projects in Jordan, Gaza Strip, West Bank and for over five years she supervised embroidery production by over 300 ladies in a self-supporting programme in the Gaza Strip. Her 1998 book Between Despair and Hope: Windows on my Middle East Journey 1967-1992 gives some details of this endeavour. Margarita met Widad Kawar when they both worked in the refugee camps of Jordan after the 1967 war.
Today Widad Kawar is known as “Umm ‘l-ibas al falastini” - Mother of the Palestinian dress. Her world-acclaimed collection is the largest in the Middle East and has been exhibited in Germany, France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, England, Scotland, Iceland, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland and Saudi Arabia. Margarita was a guide and consultant during the exhibition in Switzerland in 2003.
Contents:
Acknowledgements
Foreward
Introduction
A Treasury of Stitches
Border Motifs
Motifs from Daily Life
Motifs from Fauna
Motifs from the Garden and Fields
Motifs from Nature and the Environment
Motifs from Trees
Selected Biography
Index of Motif Names
News
THE BOOK LAUNCH - Amman, Jordan
BOOK Tours with INAASH - Dubai & Abu Dhabi, UAE
Spotlight Reviews
WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS review by Urbane & Gwendolyn Peachey
QANTARA - Dresses that Tell Stories, a review by Susannah Tarbush
THE JORDAN TIMES - The Art of the Needle, a review by Sally Bland
LIVING WELL MAGAZINE - A Treasury of Stitches
GULF TODAY Panorama - Motifs of Distinction, a review by Michael Jansen
HAAREZ - A Stitch in Time, a review by Benny Ziffer
EMBROIDERY DESIGNS GUIDE - Palestinian Embroidery Motifs, Do they reveal the origin? a review by Shikha
