Embroidering history: the V&A should take a pluralistic approach in the Middle East | Textile art

We have been to see your gallery of images from the exhibition Thread Reminiscence: Embroidery from Palestine at V&A Dundee (‘An emblem of Palestinian presence and identification’: the non-public and political world of ‘tatreez’ – in footage, 18 August), having visited the companion exhibit at V&A South Kensington.The tatreez embroidery custom ought to certainly be celebrated, however as students we’re involved by the failure to make use of traditionally right language, and to recognise the variety of cultures that existed within the space offered right here merely as “Palestine”. Formally talking, there was no such place within the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when a number of of those objects have been produced.The showcase is located inside a bigger gallery dedicated to the “Islamic Center East”: a framework that erases the historic presence of Christians and Jews within the area. The V&A possesses fascinating Jewish textiles from Iraq, however alas there is no such thing as a house for them within the part devoted right here to “Ottoman embroidery”. Context is every thing in museums these days. A pluralistic strategy is important to mirror regional complexity and acknowledge different narratives.Abigail GreenProfessor of contemporary European historical past, College of OxfordMichal FriedlanderBerlin