Exhibition showcases traditional embroidery of Maan

AMMAN — Deputising for HRH Princess Muna, HRH Princess Sana Asem on Tuesday inaugurated an exhibition featuring embroidery from Jordan’s southern governorate of Maan.

HH Princess Dina Mired, Swedish Ambassador to Jordan Alexandra Rydmark and representatives of a number of diplomatic missions in Amman attended the event at the Jordan Craft Centre (JCC) Al Aydi, in cooperation with the Widad Kawar Home for Arab Dress. 

The prominence of Maan and its central location can be attributed to the Hejaz Railway station. Maan was the most important transit station connecting Damascus with Mecca and Madina on the Hajj (the greater Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca) route. 

Pilgrims stayed in the city for a few days when travelling in each direction. 

This movement of people introduced colourful silk and cotton textiles to local women, motivating them to produce their own clothing from these materials, said a statement from the organisers. 

Much of the silk fabrics were woven in Aleppo. 

Women from the city added a touch of beauty to their homes with pillows unique to Jordan, especially those made by women in Maan, the statement said. 

Women would embroider five to eight pillows for their homes using a variety of silk fabrics found in the market.

The exhibition features the Jordanian embroidery of Maan with a wide array of pillows. 

The embroidered pillows are unique to the area, and require great skill and production time.

The exhibition also showcases handcrafted textiles, representing traditional Maani women’s handcrafted products, such as pillows, saddlebags, shawls, dresses, handbags and coats.