Print this page The Art and Identity of Palestinian Clothing - From the Bronze Age Until Now

Explore the traditional clothing of Palestine and how the cut of its robes and the ornament of its embroidery express the history of a region from at least the Late Bronze Age until now. The aesthetic and cultural significance of the evolution in Palestinian clothing will be shown to mirror both the history of the region and the living heritage of Palestine through its traditional dress. We will conclude by examining how Palestinian clothing has further evolved in response to and in defiance of colonialist occupation showing how the visual culture of the Palestinian people is inextricably bound up within both a vast and current historical context.

DELIVERY MODE

• Face-to-Face

SUGGESTED READING

• Nur Masalha, Palestine: A Four Thousand Year History, ZED, 2018.
• Nur Masalhs, Palestine: A History of Literacy, Learning and Educational Revolutions, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2022.
• Hanan Karaman Munayyer, Traditional Palestinian Costume: Origins and Evolution, Olive Branch: 2020.
• Ilan Pappe, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, Oneworld: 2006.
• Edward Said, The Question of Palestine, Vintage: 1992.
• Shelagh Weir, Palestinian Costume, Interlink Pub Group, Inc: 2008.
• The Stylistic Origins and Evolution of Palestinian Clothing and Decorative Design

COURSE OUTLINE

• The origins of Palestinian clothing: We will examine the origin of Palestinian clothing in the A-shaped “Syrian tunic”, with figurative depictions in the archaeological record of the region such as on Bronze Age Egyptian tombs and in Canaanite engravings.
  • The 1st century CE dalmatic tunic: The dalmatic tunic, with its woven decorative vertical bands called “clavi”, defined much of the clothing of the Mediterranean in the first centuries of the common era. We will examine its endurance into the present, in both the liturgical vestments of Christendom and within the traditional clothing of Palestine.
  • Palestinian Embroidery - its design and ornamentation: To this day, Palestinian clothing preserves some of the most ancient decorative designs of the Middle East. We will see how it drew upon designs, such as the ornamental palmette (palm motif), seen in ancient Mesopotamian art, to the acanthus leaf patterns that are strongly evident within both Byzantine mosaics and early Islamic art.
  • The Mamluk dynasty – a consolidation of design: We will examine the lasting influence the Mamluk dynasty and its patronage had upon the textile industry and all the crafts of Palestine more broadly. Furthermore, we will see how embroidered Palestinian designs became far more commonly known via Mamluk trade with Renaissance Europe.

BREAK

• Palestinian Clothing during the Ottoman, British Mandate and Post Nakba periods: In the 18th and 19th century, Palestine was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution, being a leading exporter of cotton to France and the factories of Britain. We will see how this in turn influenced the production of regional clothing. Under British Mandate rule, Palestinians in the cities had mostly adopted Western clothing. However, they always saw their direct historical connection to the textile traditions preserved in the identity of the agrarian countryside and smaller towns. We will see how Palestinian intellectuals, like Khalil Ibrahim Beidas, drew upon wider global influence, such as Leo Tolstoy, to extol the life of the peasantry. This will then give us a context for understanding the rise of the Palestinian keffiyeh - originally a scarf worn by farmers during the Ottoman Empire - that metamorphosed into a collective form of visual cultural solidarity and resistance to British Mandate rule in the mid-twentieth century. We will see how this tradition has endured, post the 1948 Nakba (“Catastrophe”) until now.
• Clothing, Style and Region: We will conclude by examining the regional stylistic differences within clothing in Palestine. This will include the Galilee, Ramallah, Nablus, Jenin, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Al Khalil (Hebron) and Gaza.

1. Perceive of the history of Palestine and the Eastern Mediterranean via the evolution of its craft culture and how that culture influenced the world more broadly via both reciprocal historical interaction and trade.
2. Be able to recognise common design motifs within Palestinian embroidery such as the palmette, cypress tree, crowstep, acanthus leaf, the comb, the leech, diamonds, flowers and paired birds.
3. Visually analyse Palestinian clothing and crafts, in relation to their specific regional contexts.