Hanan Munayyer is a Palestinian –American collector and researcher of Palestinian clothing.

She felt in love with the Palestinian embroidery in 1987, when she saw a collection of dresses and accessories brought to New York by the late Rolla Foley, an American Quaker who was in Palestine in 1938. Foley was working as a teacher at the Friends School in Ramallah. Foley´s collection included a large number of quality items of Palestinian and Syrian costumes, some of them date back to 1850.

Hanan and her husband bought the Foley´s collection because they thought that embroidery is one of the strongest expressions of Palestinian culture and they were interested in promoting the Palestinian cultural image in a positive way.

Munayyer, a molecular biologist, put her research skills to use to dig into the history of their new possessions — through books (only a handful were available then), textile experts and trips back to the Middle East.

Her collection has items of proto-Palestinian attire in artifacts from the Canaanite period (1500 BCE) such as Egyptian paintings depicting Canaanites in A-shaped garments. Munayyer says that from 1200 BC to 1940 AD, all Palestinian dresses were cut from natural fabrics in a similar A-line shape with triangular sleeves. This shape is known to archaeologists as the “Syrian tunic” and appears in artifacts such as an ivory engraving from Megiddo dating to 1200 BC.

She has the largest collection in America, the Munayyer collection includes costumes from most Palestinian regions well known for distinctive costumes. The collection has been displayed in several American museums.

Hanan is the co-founder and president of the Palestinian Heritage Foundation. She has researched and lectured on Palestinian textile arts for over twenty years.

Her book Traditional Palestinian Costume Origins and Evolution was published by Interlink Books in May 2011, is the culmination of Hanan´s research for the past twenty three years. It reflects the historical and cultural richness of Palestine and the Arab world through costumes and embroidery.

Hanan’s study commenced with scholarly exploration into art history, archaeology, the interpretation of ancient patterns, and the history of costumes and craft in the Middle East over the last 4,000 years. It includes extensive field research and the culling of museum resources and publications from around the world.

The book presents the most exhaustive and up-to-date study of the origins of Palestinian embroidery and costume—from antiquity through medieval Arab textile arts to the present. It documents the evolution of costume and the textile arts in Palestine in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries region by region.

Hanan knows that these textiles have long played an important role in Palestinian culture and identity and are manifested in every aspect of Palestinian life. She believes that the costumes are sources of historical data.

Hanan received the ATFP Award for Excellence in Arts Scholarship at ATFP’s Sixth Annual Gala on October 19, 2011 in recognition of her book on traditional costumes.

 Some items from her collection

Sources:

– http://www.palestineheritage.org

– http://www.all4palestine.com

Videos

-Hanan Karaman Munayyer awarded for Excellence in Arts Scholarship, ATFP 6th Annual Gala

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjy-Px-9k2w

–Traditional Palestinian Costume: Lecture and Book Signing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFPSY9rwGIs

Further readings:

– “Traditional Palestinian Costume: Lecture and Book Signing”

http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/ht/display/ContentDetails/i/32204/pid/v

– Traditional Palestinian Costume: Origins and Evolution

http://www.wrmea.org/2012-october/books-traditional-palestinian-costume-origins-and-evolution.html