Collection place: Western Asia / Culture or time period: Western Asian cultures - Hearst Museum Portal Search Results

Start Over Collection place Western Asia Culture or time period Western Asian cultures

Hearst Museum object titled Wedding ornament, accession number 9-23811, described as Wedding ornament, hunaid. Bright red cotton and rough white cotton lining are sewn together to make a tube and form the support for beads, buttons, shells, and fringes. The cotton tube is 12" long, with a 7" black goat hair fringe sewn onto the bottom 3". The tube is formed by fastening three buttons. A 2" black goat hair fringe is sewn to the top edge. A grid of cowrie shells and white and black glass beads form a gridded pattern, the white beads forming rectangles or diamonds. 3 old coins are sewn on. Z-ply. Used to announce a wedding by fitting it on a pole and standing the pole up in front of the tent or house. Not sure if there's further significance, such as bride's virginity.

Hearst Museum object titled Wedding ornament, accession number 9-23815, described as This is a very old well-made piece which must have been very handsome when new. It is made of a formerly red cotton print, a white cotton lining, goat hair fringe on top, and leather panel with flaps on the bottom. The cotton body is 13" long and is neatly sewn to its lining. Goat hair fringe has a twined, colored base and is held upright by stitches running through the tops. Cowrie shells form a grid on the body of the piece. Other cloth was appliqued in parts of the grid, with cowrie shells sewn over some of it. The open appliqued areas have mostly worn off. Buttons with circles of white glass beads have been randomly sewn on to mimic the pattern in the print. The two 1/4" leather panel on the bottom was twined with very fine leather strips 1/16" wide. Lead beads form wavy lines, creating diamond shapes. The flaps are of plaiting, twining, and braids, 5.5" long, are decorated with lead beads, cowrie shells, and some incised mother-of-pearl (?) shells. Z-ply. 10 EPI in leather twining.

Hearst Museum object titled Yarn, accession number 9-23829, described as 21 balls/bundles of hand-spun and dyed Bedouin yarn: cotton, sheep, and goat wool in reds, burgandy, oranges, creams, natural browns (light and dark), blue-green.