Press Release – The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) has acquired a selection of objects and textiles from the Widad Kawar Collection. Widad Kawar has been working closely with ROM’s curatorial team for many years, driven by her passion for showcasing Arab textile heritage and educating audiences worldwide. Each object was carefully selected for its historical significance and the lived histories embedded in its making, as well as its role in sharing Arab heritage more widely on an international level.
The selection, which went to Toronto in 2022, includes garments, accessories, and historic objects of daily life from the Levant (Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon) as well as Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, the UAE, Yemen, and other Arab countries. The collection reflects the diversity and richness of the region, extending beyond dress to include domestic furnishings and everyday material heritage.
As stated by Widad Kawar: “Canada is home to people from across the Arab world, and I hope that communities will find joy and inspiration in their own cultural heritage at ROM.”
The selection comes from the larger Widad Kawar Collection, which remains held at Tiraz: Widad Kawar Home for Arab Dress in Amman, continuing its role as a living archive of Arab material culture and memory.
Bath clogs (qubqab) inlaid with pewter and mother-of-pearl, about 1900, Syria