Bedouin Weaving of Saudi Arabia and Its Neighbours - Rilegato

Hilden, Joy Totah

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 0955889405 ISBN 13: 9780955889400

Casa editrice: Arabian Pub Ltd, 2010

Riassunto

Portable and Practical, as well as tough and colourful, Bedouin textiles played until recent times a vital and functional part in the life of the Arab nomads. Bedouin women were expected to master the art of making entire tents as well as a wide range of rugs, saddlebags and other equipment able to withstand the rigours of the desert. They took a fierce pride in their work and produced, on the simplest ground looms, textiles that were at once hard-wearing and of vibrant aesthetic appeal. The true craftspeople of the desert, Bedouin women wove to provide the very fabric of day-to-day living. In doing so they adorned their lifestyle with shape and colour, and contributed an essential element to the image of the desert tribes.

Joy Hilden describes the weaving techniques of the Bedouin in the context of their transitional mode of life, as they adapt from their centuries-old nomadic existence to being both semi- and fully settled. She gathered her information on dyeing, spinning and weaving while living and travelling in Saudi Arabia between 1982 and 1994, extending her scope with trips to other parts of the Arabian Peninsula and adjacent Arab countries. She describes visits to Bedouin families, desert markets and urban centres where Bedouin gathered. Her work comes at a time when many tribal peoples are losing their cultural traditions and, with them, their crafts and the material of everyday life in the desert.

This is the most exhaustive study to date of the weaving methods practised by the Bedouin of Saudi Arabia. Profusely illustrated, and giving thorough instruction in techniques, Bedouin Weaving is an essential companion for collectors and connoisseurs of flat-weave textiles, the category into which Bedouin weavings fall. It is aimed both at general readers and at weavers, craftspeople in general, students, ethnographers, and museum and textile authorities.

Su questo libro

L'autore:

Joy Totah Hilden, an acknowledged authority on Bedouin textiles, brings to this work her background as a teacher of art and English. Born in Jerusalem in 1935 to a Palestinian father and American mother, she spent her childhood in Palestine, where she observed many crafts in action, including Bedouin weaving. Subsequently, she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the San Francisco Art Institute, and later earned Secondary Teaching Credentials in art and English.

She took her interest in textiles with her to Saudi Arabia, where her husband taught English at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran. Her experience with Arabic enabled her to communicate with Bedouin women about their dyeing, spinning and weaving, while her academic background proved useful with the writing, drawing and photography involved in the field research.

Her website (www.beduinweaving.com) includes text and photographs of articles and academic papers she has written. Joy Hilden now lives in California.

Product Description:

Book by Hilden Joy Totah

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Arabian Pub Ltd
• Data di pubblicazione: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0955889405
• ISBN 13: 9780955889400
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero di pagine: 270