%0 Figure %A Howat-Maxted, Freja %A Sansour, Leila %A Norris, Jacob %D 2019 %T Young woman of Bethlehem in costume, c.1890-1900 %U https://sussex.figshare.com/articles/figure/Young_woman_of_Bethlehem_in_costume_c_1890-1900/7240661 %R 10.25377/sussex.7240661.v1 %2 https://sussex.figshare.com/ndownloader/files/13329113 %K Bethlehem Women collection %K Shatweh %K Bethlehem headdress %K Bethlehem embroidery %K Middle Eastern and African History %K Middle Eastern and North African history %X This is a digital reproduction of an image held within the Library of Congress.

The young woman pictured is wearing dress unique to Bethlehem. Her cone-shaped headdress (shatweh) was worn in Bethlehem by married women and is lined with rows of coins, beads and coral, to symbolise the family wealth. The embroidered scarf covering the shatweh is of 19th century design. The short jacket (taqsireh) worn over a long sleeved, heavily embroidered dress with a chest panel is customary to the area. Bethlehem was one of the most famous centres for embroidery in Palestine, with its dresses produced in linen and silk.

The image is part of the Bethlehem Women collection within the Library of Congress project of the Planet Bethlehem archive.
%I University of Sussex