Requests from referer
Object History
In 2018, Dr. Reem Tariq El Mutwalli went to Bahrain to visit the shops of Muhammad Saleh Ahmad Zari in the Manama old market but discovered that the stores had been moved to a new mall. She spent a whole day talking to the manager, PK, who had arrived from India to Bahrain as a teenager in the 1980s. He had joined Zari’s business working on the shop floor in the old market and worked his way up to become the manager of Zari’s new stores.
During their conversation, Dr. Reem told PK that the purpose of her visit was to acquire historical clothing made by the Zari family. PK told her that all he had were two discarded old boxes and he would be happy if she accepted some of them as a gift.
Dr. Reem found this veil (bukhnug) in one of the boxes in addition to two other dresses. The second box contained an old mould for gold, coin-like garment decorations called (hruf), and a black and white photo of the deceased Muhammad Saleh Zari.
PK also presented Dr. Reem with paper rolls containing straws of pure silver (talli), still wrapped with strings and sealed with red wax, bearing the product details and the name of the manufacturer from the French city of Lyon. Originally the silver straw talli was weighed in (tulah) and imported from Gujarat India, in time, the French type became more favoured due to its higher quality.
Muhammad Saleh Ahmad Zari is considered one of the oldest and most famous thawb nashil makers in Bahrain. After sewing the dress and embroidering it with zari threads by hand, he knocked and burnished the embroidery until it became polished, smooth and shining.
Object Features
This translucent, black, chiffon silk, child veil (bukhnug) is a form of (hijab) that covers the head, neck, shoulders, and upper body.
Basically, a rectangular fabric folded on the long side and sawn, leaving an opening that surrounds the face, covering the underside of the chin, and draping in front to the waist. The design frees the wearer from the need to fasten or adjust it.
The bukhnug is machine embroidered with synthetic gold thread (zari) in arabesque motifs, accentuating the area surrounding the face and extending down the front seam line.
Single leaf motif is then sprinkled across the rest of the fabric. Gold colour sequins are hand sawn for added sparkle.
The bukhnug was extensively worn by young girls across the Arab Gulf region from the age of seven to puberty, where upon they married and began to don the outer cloak (abayah) and face mask (burgu‘).
It came in different sizes, to cover the upper body, and could extend below the waistline in front. Many had long back versions, flowing and trailing behind as the person walked.
Thought to be mainly decorated by machine embroidery, some versions also come adorned in (naqdah) and (talli).
Donate