'Part 2'
The (displays) that have the immediate
attention of any student are in the areas of jewellery, textiles and embroideries, guns,
daggers, shields and some armour, as worn by the armies of long ago. In one of the cases
of Indian and Persian armour are a couple of Helmets.
It might have been worn by Persian armies of
the 1C and 19th centuries mainly on ceremonial occasions. Even guns were generally
beautifully decorated and there are some in the museum, though most are in storage in
England because the museum has no place to display them. Some daggers and knives are still
worn as part of Arab national dress, and until the turn of this century some men in Kuwait
might have worn a dagger.
The museum has one of the largest
collections in the world of silver folk jewellery that comes mainly from arab/islamic
countries. It also has a smaller collection of gold that is fascinating to learn about and
often, like the silver very beautiful.
Jewellery was given as a form of 'dowry' to
women when they got married. Some pieces had 'good luck' motifs on it - take a look, if
you come to the museum, at some of the corals, amber and carnelian, which decorates many
of the necklaces and bracelets. Some jewellery was very expensive and some not expensive
at all, but the ladies who received it appreciated every bit. It is still the custom to
present the bride with jewellery, and 1 am sure we all hope that custom continues!
An interesting Southeast Asian 'decoration'
was worn by very small children and was called a 'Chaping' (illustration).
Very small boys and girls who ran around
naked until they were a little older wore this. It is a modesty 'plate' and hangs from the
waist on a silver chain. The museum has a number of these examples. Some of the decorative
grooming tools, like kohl holders, ear scrapers and tweezers for plucking out thorns were
made to be carried and could be used as wanted. Some have a little decoration on them, a
few even have enamel work. Quite a number of these tools include a piercing stick on them,
looking like a thick needle. This was for making a hole in material and then embroidery
was worked round the hole in buttonhole stitch. Some of the caps worn by men down in Oman
have many decorative designs on them and the pattern is first pricked out by the piercing
stick and then embroidered.
There is quite a large collection of
textiles and embroideries, particular from the Middle East. Many of them were embroidered
as part of a young girl's marriage chest when she got married. Most young girls in Europe
and the Middle East prepared their clothes, cushions, table clothes etc and placed them in
a chest until her wedding day. There is an 18 th century north African sampler.
Samplers are worked by young girls learning
to make the different stitches. Going to school has rather put a stop to this, because
there are now so many different (and interesting!) subjects on the syllabus for students
to study, and little time to embroider. Which in a way seems a pity, as samplers are so
lovely to look at and one is admiring of the young women who became such good artists. The
example you can see in the museum is very good. But if any of you go to London in the
summer go and look at the textile section of the Victoria and Albert museum. They have
some Samplers from England as well. Embroidery skills were encouraged into the twentieth
century in many countries and there are still places where young people can learn these
skills if they wish. |
