The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), in Toronto, announced the acquisition of the Widad Kawar Collection of Arab Heritage Dresses and Arts, bringing together almost 600 pieces of clothing, accessories and historical everyday objects. Second press release Royal Ontario Museum, the collection becomes one of the most relevant collections in the world dedicated to Arab material culture.
The pieces originate in the Levant region, including Jordan, Palestine, Syria and Lebanon, as well as other Arab countries such as Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. The geographical diversity of the collection reflects decades of research and curatorship dedicated to documenting textile traditions throughout the region.
Seven decades of research behind the collection
The collection is the result of the work of Widad Kamel Kawar, a collector who devoted more than 70 years of her life to gathering and documenting costumes and domestic arts of Arab women. Born in a Palestinian Christian family and raised between Bethlehem and Ramallah, Kawar personally chose the ROM as the final destination of the collection, recognizing the historical depth and expertise of the museum in collections of the Islamic world.
More than gathering objects, Kawar dedicated himself to interviewing embroiderers, weavers, goldsmiths and other artisans responsible for the pieces, recording stories and contexts behind each item. This method of oral documentation gives the collection a value that goes beyond the material aspect, also functioning as a cultural memory archive of entire communities.
Highlights already on display
A prominent selection of the collection is on temporary display at Currelly Gallery on the main floor of the museum. Among the exhibits is a richly embroidered wedding dress and jacket, originating from Bethlehem, next to a headpiece adorned with coins, handmade silver jewelry and an elegant veil with handmade lace.
The exhibition offers the public a sample of the technical and symbolic richness of traditional Arab costumes, showing embroidery, weaving and goldsmithing techniques transmitted between generations of artisans in different countries of the region.
The choice of ROM as recipient was not random. The museum already maintained a significant history of research and exhibitions dedicated to the Islamic world, which weighed on Kawar's decision to donate and sell part of his collection to the Canadian institution, rather than opt for museums from other regions that have also shown interest in the collection over the years.
What the acquisition signals for the circuit of art and heritage
The arrival of the collection at the ROM reinforces a broader movement among major international museums to expand and diversify collections aimed at non-Western material culture, recognizing the historical and aesthetic value of textile traditions historically little represented in institutions of the northern hemisphere.
The episode also dialogues with a broader trend in the art and luxury market, in which private institutions and collectors start to value pieces with strong historical burden and personal narrative, a movement similar to that observed in initiatives that connect contemporary art to prestigious enterprises, as shown in the case of Beto Gatti, who uses contemporary art to boost luxury ventures.
