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Striped undergarment embellished in metallic straw – UAE

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Local Name	Sarwal bu_nsai’ah, badlah talli
Object Category	Undergarment
Gender	Female
Place Of orgin	United Arab Emirates
Region	Dubai
Object Range	United Arab Emirates
Dimensions	Length: 98 cm Width: 36 cm
Materials	Cotton
Technique	Machine Stitched Embellished
Color
Motif	Geometric
Provenance	Purchased, Bakhitah Al ‘Ali, Dubai 1998
Location	Zeman Awal, Mall of the Emirates
Status	On display
ZI number	ZI1998.50010a UAE

Object Note
This undergarment (, 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.

) is accompanied by a matching silver embroidered tunic dress ( bu_nsai’ah) (ZI1998.50010 UAE).

Object History 
purchased this article of dress in 1998 from Bakhitah Al ‘Ali, Salih.
Bakhitah Al ‘Ali, was in her late fifties when the two ladies met. She never attended any formal schooling but studied under a religious tribal teacher “mtawa’ah” and like many of her peers could recite the holy Quran by heart. She married her maternal cousin at the age of 13 and bore 3 daughters and five sons. She was very talented in crafts and made the underpants 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.

), 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.

) that accompanied the tunic ().

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.

) are composed of a form of striped (), cotton material known as (bu_nsai’ah), similar to its matching tunic dress ( bu_nsai’ah). The first part of the name references the chevron-like lines that form some of the stripes which resemble the cotton weave of the drawstring cord (ns’ah).
The fabric is of a deep purple base colour, embellished with repetitive white, vertical, 1 cm wide, chevron lines, sandwiched by 0.5 cm wide vertical dark green coloured stripes, outlined in 0.25 cm gold coloured stripes. This type of fabric is popular and commonly worn by Emirati women and young girls alike.
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 dialect, is the namesake of 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, gold plated , or metallic () ribbons (). Resulting in over 40 recorded designs that have been cultivated 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). makes up the larger, middle part of the cuff and can include between 1 to 20 different cords or ribbons ( ), 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. These 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 or braid is made separately and joined together afterwards.
The wider larger size cuffs are reserved for special occasions, while narrower smaller sizes are used for everyday wear or by the elderly.
In this example, only black cotton () is braided with gold metallic (). The upper edge uses upside down ( mnakasah) motif, followed consecutively by lines of  ), 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, motif, ), 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 and ), 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.

(bayt_bu_glasat). The latter is one of two main designs customarily applied to the heart of 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.

), the other is known as ( ).
The edges () are then composed of double lines of ), 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 ending with a line of motif.

Parts from the same set:

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