Description
Introduction
Clothing and embroidery traditions are inextricably connected to the Palestinian people’s enduring presence in their homeland. Known in ancient times as Canaan, Philistia and later Jund Filastin, the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River has retained the name Palestine as a continuous marker of place and identity. Before the catastrophic ‘Nakba’ displacement of 1948, regional styles varied widely and developed through the circulation of fabrics, threads and techniques influenced by neighbouring Syria, Egypt and Lebanon. Coastal ports such as Acre, Jaffa, Asqalan and Gaza played a key role in these exchanges linking Europe, North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Tatreez: Reclaiming Palestine through Embroidery explores how — despite periods of cultural misrepresentation — Palestinian embroidery remains a vital medium of historical memory, resilience and belonging.
