Palestinian Bedouin Wedding Headdress

A truly extraordinary wedding headdress (Wuqayat al-durahem,"money hat")from Hebron,circa mid 1800's.See Shelagh Weir's book "Palestinian Costume", 1989 Univ. of Texas Press p.187 for another example,very similar,in the Museum of Mankind, London.These headdresses were sometimes owned communally and lent out for a bride to wear during marriage festivities,still very important events throughout the Arab world.Collected over 30 years ago in Jerusalem,this example is in fine condition and heavy with hundreds of old coins dating back to Ottoman sultans' reigns from the 1700's on.The string of colored glass and plastic beads is a later addition,typical of these treasured headdresses that were added to and embellished over generations. A very desirable museum piece,for a serious ethnographic collection.