The Dee Birnbaum Collection

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Historical Context

“Traditional embroidered wedding outfit from Siwa Oasis.” Western Egypt. (DB-0772-0773a)

The textile collection illuminates how material culture collecting can have a lasting effect on the collectors’ life. This collection in general started out as a personal collection of Dee Birnbaum, who is currently an associate professor of business at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN, and was amassed from travels and exploration. The collection is now one of the largest collections of its type in both number and geographic scope in the country.  

 

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"Silver Nubian bracelet with filigree work and bells" Egytpt/Sudan (DB-2299a)

The clothing in this collection includes shawls, tunics, and pants. There is also a large variety of jewelry that has been collected from small local bazaars during her personal travels. Some of the jewelry in the collection includes handcrafted bangles, jeweled necklaces as well as veil ornaments. This collection of over 2000 items is rare as it was not created as an academic pursuit but by personal means.

 

“Silver Tekke Turkmen pendant with fire-gilded designs, glass and semi-precious stones’” Central Asia (DB-0119)
"Afghan Pashtun cape with traditional embroidered designs" Afghanistan (DB-4015)

Egyptian Zar jewelry

(DB-3010)

Once widely practiced in Egypt but now largely performed in secret, Zar is a type of folk ritual intended to heal ailments believed to be caused by spirit possession. It is predominately associated with women. 

Want to hear more?

Emily Bryant highlights some of the Zar-related pieces in this Coffee & Curators talk, presented spring 2022:

YouTube video

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