Name of Object:

Headdress

Name in original language:

Safiyfeh; Urjeh

Location:

Amman, Jordan

Holding Institution:

Jordan Museum for Costumes and Jewellery, Department of Antiquities

 About Jordan Museum for Costumes and Jewellery, Amman

Date of Object:

Early 20th century

Inventory Number:

97,005

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Silver, fabric, glass beads, coins; casting, welding, weaving

Dimensions:

Height 120 cm

Provenance:

Northern Jordan (Ajlun, Irbid, Ramtha)

Description:

Three bands of silver chain fitted around the sides and over the crown of the head and attached to a surrounding fabric patterned in minute beadwork and sewn with various Ottoman and Russian coins. From this head-piece hangs a long piece of cotton sewn with coins of the Ottoman Empire with a rectangular pendant and multiple red and green silk tassels on the back. Headdresses like this one were worn by married women, as silver was the most common jewellery. The dowry of silver and gold jewellery was given by the groom to the bride. The Ottoman and Russian coins reflect the social and economic situation of Jordan between the end of the 19th century and the early 20th century, when it was part of the Ottoman empire and it was influenced by population movements, demographic changes and trade with distant countries.

Type of Object

Clothing; ornament; costume; dress

Citation of this web page:

Huda Kilani "Headdress" in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2026.
https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;AWE;jo;28;en

Prepared by: Huda Kilani
Copyedited by: Daniel de la VegaDaniel de la Vega

Daniel de la Vega is a copy editor based in Portland, Oregon. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in linguistics from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 2014 and has since done editing and localization work on everything from college applications to magazines to video game dialogue.

MWNF Working Number: JO 028