- Collection type
- Photograph
- Description
- Photograph of five carved wooden printing blocks from Jisr al-Shughur. The two on the right are rectangular with carved zigzag designs, while the three on the left are long and thin with repeating designs of hearts, curls, and flowers.
- Person
- Expedition or compiler Jenny Balfour-Paul
- Photographer Jenny Balfour-Paul
- PRM source Jenny Balfour-Paul
- Date / Period
- Date of photograph: September 1985
- Acquisition information
- Donated: 14/05/2018
- Photographic process
- Transparency Colour
- Dimensions
- Image dimension 35 mm
- Object numbers
- Accession number: 2018.137.1070
- Research and responses
Jenny Balfour-Paul's Notes from Syria field trip early October 1985 ... 'At Jisr al Shughar Visited two fabric printers who stopped working about 10 years ago... Many of the blocks are in pairs. They cut their own wooden blocks (as did the Aleppo printers). One had the outline pattern, and the other, which matched it (its 'brother') printed larger areas of colour and had pieces of felt stuck to it. They seemed to call these Assas and Anatir. As lots of water was need in the printing process they carried out their work on the banks of the Orontes. (And said that the indigo dyers worked in workshops in the town)...' [JMC 08/09/2020]
These five fabric printing blocks are among the objects donated by Jenny Balfour-Paul. Please see 2018.37.10 - .14 for the object records. [JMC 08/09/2020]
Related
2018.37.13Wooden printing block. One surface of the block is carved with a central pattern of hearts and a border of scroll design on either side. [FB 15/3/2018]2018.37.13
2018.37.10Wooden printing block.2018.37.10
2018.37.11Wooden printing block. [FB 15/3/2018]2018.37.11
2018.37.12Wooden printing block. One surface of the block is carved with an organic pattern. [FB 15/3/2018]2018.37.12
2018.37.14Wooden printing block. One surface of the block is carved with a pattern consisting of floral and geometric motifs. [FB 15/3/2018]2018.37.14
Further items to explore
2018.137.159View of the ancient ruins at Palmyra, showing part of the interior of the theatre, with the Great Colonnade and the Temple of Bel in the distance.2018.137.159
2018.137.2097Ali 'Abd Rabbo al Garawi beats a piece of indigo-dyed cloth with a heavy wooden mallet. The cloth is placed on a large stone slab.2018.137.2097
2018.137.2145A man rubs indigo paste into an indigo-dyed cloth with a woven brush. He sits on the floor with a pot of the indigo paste to his right. Indigo-dyed cloths hang to dry above him.2018.137.2145
2018.137.461People gather at a market in Fernana. A woman walks in the foreground, wearing a long striped red and black garment, a white cloak, and several scarves of different colours around her head. She walks among a number of women seated on the ground, covered in colourful striped cloths. Men and boys are pictured in the background.2018.137.461
2018.137.127View of Krak des Chevaliers from the north. The castle sits atop a hill on which tiers of trees and dwellings are situated.2018.137.127
2018.137.1054Portrait of Haj Jamil bin Youssef, a former indigo dyer at al-'Atri workshop in Aleppo.2018.137.1054
2018.137.2057View of a number of large fabric printing blocks, each with different patterns.2018.137.2057
2018.137.80Stone carving on an architectural feature. A series of medallions with different motifs.2018.137.80