Description
This exquisite dress is crafted from hand-loomed silk with cotton taffeta called “Heremzi,” likely originating from Aleppo, Syria, and possibly made in Al-Ezariyeh (Bethany) near Jerusalem.
The main fabric features a “Qasabiyeh” translating to the bamboo pattern of narrow, parallel stripes in black and yolk colors, with alternating thin lines of red, green, and white.
“Thobe Abu-qutbeh” translates to “father of stitches,” referring to the fine stitches that join the various parts of the dress.
The dress has a rounded neck with a short center front opening, finished with two tasselled silk ties and long sleeves that widen towards a pointed end.
The chest, sleeves, and sides of the thobe are patched with alternating atlas silk panels, the shoulders are patched with turquoise atlas silk panels and red silk velvet on the front.
The sleeves have two orange panels with a red center, while the sides of the lower skirt feature two red atlas panels with a grey center.
These sections are beautifully embroidered using the Bethlehem couching technique with double (Habkeh) stitches and appliqué (Tishrimeh) or zigzag patterns.
The dress is richly adorned with scarlet cord embroidery in silk and metal thread, accented with silk threads in shades of pink, blue, turquoise, purple, white, orange, and green.
The embroidered motif, called “Mushajjara,” is inspired by natural, floral designs and includes three birds on each sleeve and on the lower part of the skirt’s backside.
The square plastron chest panel (Qabbeh) is densely couched with silk and silver thread, decorated with floral patterns.
Silver-wrapped threads and silk are also embroidered and couched on the sleeves, the triangular shaped panels on each side, and the lower backside of the skirt, with all edges finely embroidered.
