Object Note
This overgarment (thawb kurar) was purchased by Dr. Reem Tariq El Mutwalli, from Mrs. Fawziyah in 2018, together with another overgarment (thawb kurar) (ZI2018.500381.2 BAHRAIN).
Object History
During Sharjah Heritage Days in 2018, generally held at Heritage Square in the heart of the Emirate of Sharjah; Dr. Reem Tariq El Mutwalli, met by chance with Fawziyah a crafter participating among Bahrain’s delegation to showcase traditional crafts.
The two ladies struck up a friendship and in time Fawziyah sold two of her personal dresses to Dr. Reem.
These two garments date back to the 1990s, she had personally sewn and decorated them with (kurar), luckily holding on to them for many years until they were purchased by Dr. Reem and added to The Zay Collection.
Object Features
This sheer, brown, cotton voile overgarment (thawb kurar) is printed in a repeated off-white floral motif outlined in two shades of light brown.
The machine-stitched, Bahraini overgarment, is sewn in the traditional T-shape with wide sleeve panels and gussets (bat), of the same fabric, connecting each of the upper sleeve panels at the lower end.
It is decorated, simply, with a 2 cm wide band of traditional kurar work in gilded thread (zari), accentuating the neckline creating a central axis extending to the hemline in front, and framing the outer sleeve openings.
Kurar work requires a group of skilled handcrafters, two or three women, called (dawakhil), led by a group leader called the (qattabah). The women sit opposite the leader, and each takes a turn organising the thread on her fingers and transferring it from one hand to another, for the thread to interlace. The result is a flat woven ribbon, that is then hand stitched directly onto the fabric of the overgarment (thawb), accentuating the sleeves, the neckline, and the centre axis on the front of the gown.
Such a garment is customarily worn over underpants (sirwal) and a tunic dress (dara’ah) and is reserved for special events and social gatherings.
More details
Thawb nashil is a popular traditional Bahraini dress that was made in Bahrain back in the late 1940s, and before that it was imported from India on demand.
When the Bahrainis began to sew this dress, merchants used to import its black cloth made of natural chiffon silk from India, and in Bahrain it was sewn and embroidered with zari, which was usually imported from Gujarat, India, and sometimes from Europe, from countries such as Germany and France.
The name of the dress is borrowed from the word nashil, it means the brightly colored fabric that was used to cover the hudage that transported the bride from one place to another. Historically, the bride wore this robe in Bahrain on her henna or wedding night.
Thawb nashil is sewn in T-shape, and the fabric is cut in the form of longitudinal and cross sections. The neck opening is circular, triangular or square and has a front slit reaching the middle or end of the chest area, and along this slit, ball buttons made of zari are added and loops are made to close the slit.
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.
In time, the sewing of this dress evolved becoming automatically sewn and embroidered from several colors of natural or synthetic chiffon silk.
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