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Striped undergarment embellished with metallic thread - UAE

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Local Name	Sarwal sultani talli badlah
Object Category	Undergarment
Gender	Female
Place Of orgin	United Arab Emirates
Region	Al Hir
Object Range	Iran, Qatar, United Arab Emirates
Dimensions	Length: 107 cm Width: 40 cm
Materials	Cotton
Technique	Machine Embroidered Machine Stitched
Motif	Geometric
Provenance	Purchased, Moza ‘Ubaid Sultan, Al Hir
Location	Zeman Awwal, Mall of the Emirates
Status	On display
ZI number	ZI1989.500116 UAE

Object History 
purchased this from Fatimah Al Mghani who in turn sourced it from Moza ‘Ubaid Sultan, from Al Hir.
Fatimah Al Mghani, social researcher and folkloric expert, is a friend and fellow colleague, supporter of The Initiative, and a valuable reference in UAE cultural heritage.
Moza ‘Ubaid Sultan, a housewife talented in tailoring and crafts works, attended primary and secondary schooling. She married her maternal cousin at the age of 14 and bore 4 daughters and 2 sons, who all went on to attain university degrees.

Object Features 
These underpants (, shirwāl), trousers featuring tapering ankles and drawstring closure of Central Asian origin. They disseminated in the Indian subcontinent between c.1st-3rd century BCE. Although exact period of its arrival in the Arab world is disputed their widespread adoption is confirmed from the 12th century.

) represents a fine example of the use of the traditional wide striped cotton fabric known as () widely popular in the UAE, for both tunics (kanadir) and undergarments (). The popularity of this fabric has persisted through time. Though this particular example is rarely found in today’s markets, more contemporary versions remain sought after by older women.
The ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment. The term is commonly used in the North African Arab region specifically in Egypt.

; tariq; badla; ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment.

; ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment. The term is commonly used in the North African Arab region specifically in Egypt.

; ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment. The term is commonly used in India and parts of the subcontinent.

, in the Emirati Arabic dialect, refers to the cuffs on the underpants , shirwāl), trousers featuring tapering ankles and drawstring closure of Central Asian origin. They disseminated in the Indian subcontinent between c.1st-3rd century BCE. Although exact period of its arrival in the Arab world is disputed their widespread adoption is confirmed from the 12th century.

. It is generally composed of multiple lines of cords/braids/bands or ribbons ( or ), that are individually created by knotting together cotton (), silk , or synthetic () threads, with silver or gold plated metallic straw (). Resulting in over 40 recorded designs in varying widths, motifs, and intricacies, often named after the motifs depicted on them.
The decorative cuffs ( ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment. The term is commonly used in the North African Arab region specifically in Egypt.

; tariq; badla; ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment.

; ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment. The term is commonly used in the North African Arab region specifically in Egypt.

; ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment. The term is commonly used in India and parts of the subcontinent.

) are generally composed of the central portion (_), hand-stitched side by side in different motifs, and hemmed by a few lines forming the rim (trāf).) and side or edge (). The _), hand-stitched side by side in different motifs, and hemmed by a few lines forming the rim (trāf). is the larger middle part of the cuff and can include between 1 to 20 different cord/ribbon ( ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment. The term is commonly used in the North African Arab region specifically in Egypt.

; tariq; badla; ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment.

) hand-stitched side by side. The centre is hemmed by the , meaning edges, that form the rim or border of the central portion (_), hand-stitched side by side in different motifs, and hemmed by a few lines forming the rim (trāf).).
The traditional basic style of cuff ( ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment. The term is commonly used in the North African Arab region specifically in Egypt.

; tariq; badla; ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment.

; ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment. The term is commonly used in the North African Arab region specifically in Egypt.

; ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment. The term is commonly used in India and parts of the subcontinent.

) includes a trim that sits between the central portion (_), hand-stitched side by side in different motifs, and hemmed by a few lines forming the rim (trāf).) and edges () in a () motif. The () motif is generally the lower edge and the () or () motifs decorate the upper edge. Every cord/braid () is made separately and joined later.
The larger wider sized cuffs are reserved for special occasions, while smaller narrower sizes are used for everyday wear or by the elderly.
Stylistically, this example follows cuffs ( ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment. The term is commonly used in the North African Arab region specifically in Egypt.

; tariq; badla; ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment.

; ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment. The term is commonly used in the North African Arab region specifically in Egypt.

; ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment. The term is commonly used in India and parts of the subcontinent.

) made in southern Iran rather than the UAE, which suggests it must have been ordered or purchased somewhere off the southern coast of Iran, clear evidence of connected lineage as well as continued cross cultural exchange among the two coasts.
In this example, _), hand-stitched side by side in different motifs, and hemmed by a few lines forming the rim (trāf). is composed of 12 cords/braids, all in black cotton thread () braided with silver or gold straw (). The top cord/braid is a combination of two motifs () and (), followed in order of decent by a 2 running stitch ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment. The term is commonly used in the North African Arab region specifically in Egypt.

; tariq; badla; ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment.

, also known as (talli_fatlah) or (talli_khusah); () or () ; 2 running stitch (talli_bu_habah) or (talli_ftul_rayh_yay) ;  ; 2 running stitch ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment. The term is commonly used in the North African Arab region specifically in Egypt.

; tariq; badla; ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment.

 ; talli_almasah or talli_’ain_mozah; 2 running stitch ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment. The term is commonly used in the North African Arab region specifically in Egypt.

; tariq; badla; ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment.

bu_habah or talli_ftul_rayh_yay; 2 running stitch ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment. The term is commonly used in the North African Arab region specifically in Egypt.

; tariq; badla; ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment.

; (); and ending in 2 running stitch ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment. The term is commonly used in the North African Arab region specifically in Egypt.

; tariq; badla; ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment.

bu_habah or talli_ftul_rayh_yay.
While the is composed of 4 cords/braids : the first inner cord of 2 running stitch ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment. The term is commonly used in the North African Arab region specifically in Egypt.

; tariq; badla; ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment.

motif, followed by , ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment. The term is commonly used in the North African Arab region specifically in Egypt.

; tariq; badla; ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment.

, and ending with ().
It is important to note that the names used to identify these traditional design motifs stem from individual naive attempts to interpret the design by the crafters. Variants are used and at times terms are interchanged from one local to the other. It is impossible to identify and list them all, thus, only those most frequently used are recorded.

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