Material Symbols of Traditional Bedouin Al-Sadu Weavings of Kuwait

Bibliographic Data

ID16776546
AuthorsKeireine Canavan (0000-0001-5625-7102, Keireine Canavan is Principal Lecturer and Subject Head of Textiles at Cardiff School of Art and Design, Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK, and Research Fellow to the Al-Sadu Weaving Society, Kuwait. She is a founder member and project director of the DIGIT Textile Research Group and a member of the International super-research group WIRAD (Welsh Institute for Research in Art and Design)., corresponding author), Ali Alnajadah (Ali Alnajadah is weaving consultant to the Al-Sadu Weaving Cooperative Society and Associate Professor and Head of the Interior Design Department at the College of Basic Education, Public Authority for Applied Education and Training in Kuwait.)
Year2013
Volume11
Issue2
Pages152-165
Publication date2013-07-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueTEXTILE (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1475-9756 • E-ISSN: 1751-8350
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.2752/175183513x13710294193961
OpenAlexW2247680223
LanguageEN
Citations received2

The historical weaving heritage of the Arabian Peninsula is a vibrant and essential element of traditional material culture. Traditional al-Sadu woven textiles convey the Bedouin women weavers' ideals of their rich heritage and instinctive awareness of natural beauty, with patterns and designs messaging the nomadic lifestyle, the desert environment, and the emphasis of aesthetic symmetry and balance due to the making process. The significance of al-Sadu weaving as a decorative craft is due not only to its importance as material culture but also because of its functionality, which served the everyday needs of the traditional Bedouin nomadic lifestyle. Al-Sadu textiles can be linked and feature in many different aspects of Bedouin community life, and are testimony to the practical achievements, manual dexterity and aesthetic values of the weavers. Like a visual language, decorative iconography and patterns create a lexicon of symbols, with messages conveying the creativity and history of desert and coastal nomadic dwelling. This article focuses on the interpretation of the traditional al-Sadu woven symbols, motifs, and patterns, establishing a wealth of meaning and communication from the codes or pictographic language by exploring the oral history and memories of a dwindling number of contemporary Bedouin women weavers in Kuwait.Keywords: Bedouinal-Sadu weavingKuwaitsemioticssymbols in weavingmaterial culturecultural identitywomen weavers

Aesthetics · Art · Beauty · Comics · Craft · Iconography · Instinct · Interpretation (philosophy · Linguistics · Literature · Meaning (existential · Visual arts · Weaving · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Architecture and Cultural Influences · Engineering · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · History · Psychology

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub