Coin caps were characteristic of the costume of Palestinian women. Depending on the locality, the caps existed in different forms. Minutely distinguishable varieties are known from Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah etc. Other than their decorative function, the coin caps had a socially pragmatic purpose, too: the coin money on her cap, just as her silver jewelry, were a woman’s personal property, which in the case of a divorce, for instance, was very important.
The present coin cap type: belonging to part of the women’s costume in the territory of the city of Hebron, on the Palestinian West Bank of the Jordan River, 30 km south of Jerusalem. More than a thousand pierced Ottoman ‘para’ coins sewn onto a thick cap made of locally woven fabric, elongated with two side flaps. In rows, with roof-tile-like overlaps. The more than a thousand Ottoman ‘para’ coins are made of billon, and alloy of silver and copper, that has been used for coin minting since antiquity. Thanks to a legible date on one of the Ottoman ‘para’ coins used here, they have been dated to 1187 in the Islamic calendar (or 1773 in modern chronology). This means they were minted during the reign of the Ottoman sultan Mustafa II (1757–1774) or Abdulhamid I (1774–1789), also at the time of the reign of Maria Theresa and her son, Joseph II.
A very early, astonishingly well-preserved piece, with old traces of usage (e.g. on the cap’s fabric), but in a very good condition. Only very few coins missing! Height: 10 cm (round cap alone), 24 cm (cap with side flaps); Diameter: c. 17 x 17 cm. Around 1800! (ME)

Provenance:
German Private Collection.

Lit.:
‘Palestinian Costume’ by Shelagh Weir, ill. p. 186, 187; ‘Pracht und Geheimnis. Kleidung und Schmuck aus Palästina und Jordanien’, Reutenstrauch-Joest-Museum Köln catalogue, ill. 186; ‘Traditional Palestinian Embroidery and Jewelry’ by Abed Al-Samih Abu Omar, ill. p. 46, 48, 50; ‘Schmuck aus dem Orient’ by Wolf-Dieter Seiwert, ill. 775.