While living and working in Cairo, Egypt from 1980 to 1982, Gene Rohr purchased a silk embroidered wedding shawl. A Grinnell native, Gene is a resident in Mayflower’s Beebe Assisted Living. He shares that he bought the shawl and other textiles from an itinerate merchant named Amerigo who was originally from Colombia, South America and whose family engaged in the textiles trade.
At the time, Amerigo had just returned from a year-long buying trip to the Swat Valley, one of the tribal lands bordering Pakistan, Afghanistan, and China. It was crafted by a Muslim woman living in Pakistan’s Swat Valley.
Gene has now donated the tapestry to The Mayflower Community where it is hanging in the Pearson Integrated Health Center. Gene is pictured there with it.
Recently, Mayflower resident, Beryl Clotfelter, introduced Gene to a friend of his who is an expert in hand-embroidered antique textiles. The friend recognized the tapestry from a photo Gene sent to him. The friend observed that these hand-made tribal textiles are unique in their origins and, therefore, because they cannot be copied, they are their own proof of identity. The expert described the shawl as “very valuable.”
— Cecelia Bagnoli, Community Life Coordinator
