Object Note
This tunic dress (kandurah mzarai talli naklas) is part of a two-piece ensemble, worn with a matching overgarment (thawb mzarai talli bu_chabat/bu_bchat) ZI2000.50011 UAE.
Object History
A special occasion tunic dress (kandurah) worn under an overgarment (thawb). Shaikha bint Ali Al Za’abi first wore this during her own wedding week, and then started lending it to brides for their henna (hinnah) ceremonies (laylat_al_hinnah). This illustrates that in the late 1990s, UAE brides did not follow the current custom of wearing green for their henna night (laylat_al_hinnah), as this is an acquired custom from neighbouring Bahrain and other Gulf states. Ladies loaned dresses like these to help other members of the community as a form of charitable (sadaqah) social and tribal bonding.
The garment was acquired by the Zay initiative also as a result of a custom known by (daf‘at_bala), where the proceeds from the sale are given as sadaqah to help ward off the evil eye or misfortune.
Object Features
A unique tunic dress (kandurah), ankle-length, long-sleeved, with a square shaped, low-cut neckline (halj) resembling western necklaces hence the name (naklas), first to appear during the 1990s. The cloth is a high-quality gold brocaded (khus) or (zari) with a repeated butterfly motif on black silk chiffon (safwah).
The neckline (bidhah) is adorned with monocoloured (talli) work of white cotton (hdub) thread, silver, as well as gold metallic ribbon khus. Using a running stitch, and continuously looping metallic ribbon with cotton thread, a twisted strand is created in a style known as (talli_fatlah). This strand (fatlah) is then applied by hand to the garment creating various looped, straight, semi-circular, and circular lines. The sleeve cuffs (hyul) feature the same type of monocoloured (talli_fatlah) that is featured on the matching thawb.
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