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I
continued my studies at the American University
in Beirut where a teacher of English Mrs.
P. Sutton had already carried out a
research
on Ramallah Embroidery and made
some of us work on samples of traditional
patterns.
Back
home I saw and felt the influence of the
Arab - Israeli war of 1948-49 on the people.
The beautiful picture I had of the village
women dressed up in their best costumes
coming in groups to the market in Bethlehem
had vanished. Their village had been occupied
and these women and their families were
settled in refugee
camps - facing a new style of life and a
new "camp culture".
This
situation made me put an effort in collecting
some costumes with the information about them
from their owners. After the war of 1967,
I faced a reality - all villages in Palestine
are now occupied and I had to double my work
in collecting the genuine pieces before they
are influenced by the refugee camp styles.
With the costumes I had to collect the accessories
such as jewelry, head covers, the belts and
items that women prepared for the weddings
- these included cushions and home embroideries.
Living
in Amman I became attracted to the interesting
Jordanian costumes, the large grand costume
of Salt, with its Syrian woven silk "Asbe".
The variety of woman's costumes in North Jordan,
and the most colorful costumes of Ma'an. The
Bedouin costumes all intrigued me, especialy
the embroidered Adwan Costumes.
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Madaba
area costume
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Um
Qais area costume
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Ma'an
area costume
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Irbid
area costume
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In
general the costumes in Jordan were infesting,
unique and spectacular and were disappearing
from use very quickly. I started collecting
samples available and information. Besides
the vast collection made by Mrs. Sa'adeyeh
El Tell for the Jordan Popular Museum of
Costumes and jewelry, there is no other
collection. I learned a lot from Mrs. Tell
on both Jordanian as Arab city culture and
the museum she created in the Amphitheatre
is the best of its kind in the Arab world.
To
follow up research on the textiles I made
many visits to Syria where the silks, belts
and some head shawls were woven especially
for woman in Palestine and Jordan. It was
a disappointment, as the beautiful textile
world of Syria was changing and the hand
weaving techniques were being replaced by
mechanical looms.
Through
my interviews with the women of my country
whether from village or the city, I got
to know the women well and got to know her
position in the family, her changing role
in a fast changing world, her attachment
to her heritage and her patience and endurance
under all kinds of stress, in order to keep
her familytogether.
Although
my collection has now expanded tocover up
other Arab countries.
The women whose heritage I collected remained
my inspiration.
They have honoured me by sharing their sad
and happy memories of the past with me,
they inspired me to pass on their rich culture
to future generations.
Widad
Kawar
The
largest and most complete collection of
embroidered Palestinian costumes in private
hands is the expression of one woman's dedication
to preserving a dazzling Falahi art and
the reality of a land that much of the world
was prepared to forget. A passionate collector,
Widad Kawar has also been a generous mentor
to writers researchers and museums interested
in this beautiful embroidery. Her collection
has delighted viewers at exhibitions worldwide
and can be appreciated by the sophisticate
lover of abstract art and those who simply
enjoy its happy color.
Inea Bushnac
Author of Arab Folktales
New York
Inspecting
Widad Kawar's collection of embroidered
Palestinian and other Arab dresses is like
sugar for a child. I sink into a painfully
rich nostalgia as I intellectually examine
the patterns and their meaning. There is
marvelous visual history in this art. There
is a language of signs and symbols formulated
over centuries of collective thinking. These
dresses contain our history and are part
of how we attended births and weddings,
how we worked, and how we grieved for our
dead. Some of the dresses also have embroidered
expressions of our resistance to liberate
ourselves from Israeli aggression. This
last fills the complement of a unique collection
and bears witness to a consummate lover
and collector.
Samia A. Halaby,
Palestinian Artist
Exhibition
of the Kawar Collection
With the help of some of the embassies in
Amman and the Ministry of Tourism, long-term
exhibits were planned for the collection.
Arranging the first exhibit was the most
difficult. The tour took place in the following
places:
1986 Prachc und Geheimnis - Museum fŸr Volkskunde,
Cologne, Germany
1988 Memoire de Soie, Institute de Monde
Arabe, Paris, France
1989 Pracht und Geheimnis - Museum fŸr Volkskunde,
Munich, Germany
1990
Culture from Palestine and Jordan, Singapore
Archaeology Museum
1990 Costumes Dyed by the Seam, Tokyo, Japan
1991 Two Thousand Years of Colour, Ahus,
Denmark
1992 Two Thousand Years of Colour, Oslo,
Norway
1993 Two Thousand Years of Colour, Stockholm,
Sweden
1996 Two Thousand Years of Colour, Rykiwisk,
Iceland
List of Books on the Collection
á "Costumes Dyed by the Seam" - 1982, Bunka
Publishing Bureau, Tokyo, Japan
á Palestinian and Jordanian Costumes, "Kawar
Collection", Catalogue by Bunka Gakeun,
1993, Costume Museum Publishers á Pracht
und Geheimnis á Memoire de Soie, Institute
du Monde Arabe
á 2000 Years of colour, Moesgand Museum,
1991, Denmark
á Weaving in Jordan, 1980, Amman, Jordan
á Fellahi Stitch, "Palestinian Embroidery",
with Tanya Naser and others
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press
clips
