Weaving Connections: Local Perspectives on Collections from the Middle East, North and West Africa

Weaving Connections

Local Perspectives on Collections from the Middle East, North and West Africa

Online Exhibition

Jenny Balfour-Paul lived, travelled and collected in the Middle East, North and West Africa from the 1970s to the 1990s. In 2016 she offered a collection of material which she described as ‘Textiles from the Arab World' to the Pitt Rivers Museum, which shortly became a focal point for a programme called MultakaOxford. Multaka, meaning ‘meeting point' in Arabic, explores different ways of engaging with heritage, while developing opportunities for intercultural dialogue. The online exhibition ‘Weaving Connections' interprets highlights from this collection from the perspectives of Multaka volunteers, the collector and Pitt Rivers Museum curators.

Weaving Connections

From textiles to ceramics, silverwork to photography, ‘Weaving Connections' celebrates excellence in design and technical skill from Egypt, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Senegal, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen.  Learn about how people made, used and wore these items and discover how the exhibition brings contemporary relevance, cross-cultural connections and personal stories into the foreground.

Creating the exhibition

During the pandemic, the usual ways of interacting with each other and collections rapidly changed. New Multaka Digital Research roles, facilitated remotely, fed into the final exhibition text. ‘Weaving Connections' also includes some wording from the earlier MultakaOxford ‘Connecting Threads' display (April 2019 – February 2020). All research from MultakaOxford will be added to the Pitt Rivers Museum collections databases.

Syria, Aleppo. Man's coat made of silk warp-faced fabric with a tie-dyed ikat design (2018.37.1) © Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.

Syria, Saraqib. Woman’s thob (dress). The V-shaped embroidery at the front finishes in a design called 'waterwheels', echoing waterwheels in the landscape (2018.37.4) © Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.

Syria, Hama, 1975. A noria (waterwheel) on the Orontes River. Photograph by Jenny Balfour-Paul (2018.137.219) © Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.

Palestine, Bethlehem. Woman's thob or jillayeh, made of silk and linen fabric (2018.37.18) © Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.

Egypt, Sinai Peninsula, El Arish. Face veil ornamented with silver, gold coins, amber beads and beaded tassels (2018.37.41) © Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.

Egypt, Siwa Oasis. Detail of embroidery from Asherah nauak (bridal tunic) (2018.37.42) © Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.

Egypt, Siwa Oasis, 1989. Photograph by Jenny Balfour-Paul (2018.137.1226) © Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.

Tunisia. Pair of silver crescent-shaped brooches, with incised decoration (2018.37.118) © Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.

Tunisia, 1977. Jenny Balfour-Paul with potter Juma bint Mohammed (2018.137.486) © Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.

Yemen, 1982. Multistorey houses in the Old City of Sana'a. Photograph by Jenny Balfour-Paul (2018.137.631) © Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.

Yemen, Bayt al-Faqih. Woman’s korta (dress) with embroidery, couched silver bands and white braided cotton (2018.37.67) © Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.

Mali, San, 1997. Bògòlanfini (mud cloths) dry in the sun after being washed in a lake near San.  Photograph by Jenny Balfour-Paul (2018.137.1623) © Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.