Head Cover - Rashaideh-Saudi Arabia - Gallery

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Head Cover - Rashaideh-Saudi Arabia

Posted by Peter Hoesli on December 2, 2016 at 1:56pm

This is a 4-layered, heavy cotton, embroidered with silver beads.

Comments

Betty December 4, 2016 at 4:18pm

I love the pattern - and wonder if it has a meaning...
Peter Hoesli December 4, 2016 at 4:45pm

Dear Betty; They all are looking like this, all with similar geometrical patterns. I have noticed such patterns also on Ma'an (a jordan) cushions. I am simple stunned that people, who live in such a difficult environment and under harsh conditions, are developing such a fine sense of beauty and are working so meticulously well. The other triangular head cover is having even less patterns but only lines across the fabric. However, while the lines are meticulously straight, they are not continuous. The second piece is as well quadruple layered, very heavy and features the same silver bead embroideries at the borders. However it also features a some sort of heavy cushion in the top center, which would have been placed on the head to keep the head cover in place. I have hand washed the second piece as it was very dirty. Oh boy, what an experience. It must have been full of sand. The water was brown and did not change. At the end, I put the fabric in the shower and washed out the detergent. The shower was also all brown afterwards and so was the laundry room ... and I! I had to wash down the walls afterwards... but now the head cover looks very nice...
Betty December 4, 2016 at 5:10pm

What an amazing account of your cleaning efforts. It sounds like half the dessert had taken refuge in this head cover. I can imagine you struggling with a sandstorm in the shower... these wonderful pieces make us do strange things....I remember my own efforts cleaning or repairing some items. The heavy corn box I showed recently was stuffed with very old herbs and there was also quite a bit of verdigris inside. So after a thorough scrub with soda and water I rinsed again with a drop of vinegar added to the water. Then I put the box in the oven as to avoid further oxidation. When I opened the oven again a biting odour emerged - the rest of the verdigris and acid had apparently reacted and developed into some stingent gas. Not dangerous in such a small amount, but still enough to make me curse myself for not paying more attention in my chemistry lessons :-)