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Embellished undergarment with metallic straw- UAE

Local Name	Sarwal mzarai, talli
Object Category	Undergarment
Gender	Female
Date of object	1940
Place Of orgin	United Arab Emirates
Region	Dubai
Object Range	UAE, Oman
Dimensions	Length: 92 cm Width: 37 cm
Materials	Silk Cotton Metal
Technique	Machine Stitched Embellished
Color
Motif	Arabesque Geometric
Provenance	Donated, Fakhria Lutfi, Dubai 2021
Location	Zeman Awwal, Mall of the Emirates
Status	On Display
ZI number	ZI2021.500977.3 UAE

Object Note
This article was donated together with a few more under garments; a similar (, 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.

) (ZI2021.500977.2 UAE): two slips () (ZI2021.500977.1 UAE) & (ZI2021.500977.1a UAE), and prayer foot wrap () (ZI2021.500977.1b UAE).
Fakhria Lutfi, born in Dubai in 1962, holds a bachelor's in graphic design from The American University DC. She was married at the age of 25 and borne 3 children - 2 boys and 1 girl. She declared that this piece of clothing was bequeathed to her () by her mother, who stitched it herself in the 1940s, and was known to do so for her friends as well. Fakhria’s mother Fatmah Mohammad Amin Abdul Ghafar was married at the age of 13 or 14, and almost every 2 years she had a child where Fakhria is the youngest of 12 siblings.

Object History 
Due to the prevailing notions of modesty in Arab cultures, this is one of the rarest undergarments in the UAE. objects like this rarely come to market because of their age, their high value due to the type of adornment, and last but not least, because they are undergarments (, 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.

).
Generally, women felt reserved () over letting go of such an intimate article of dress for they hardly comprehended the documentary value of placing their items within a historical collection, they were encouraged to sell their items to The collection following the suggestion that they use the proceeds as (), to help build a mosque or school. Their reserve was multi-layered; it being an undergarment an intimate article of dress. In addition, the act of selling can infer financial need, and even after they were convinced to do so for the sake of charity, they followed the tradition that dictates one does not publicly declare good deeds.
In this case, we have the reverse - Fakhria is an educated woman who fully understood the value of the work carried by The Initiative, thus her donation of intimate clothing adds great value to the collection by shedding light on articles of dress that are not generally handed down from generation to the other.

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 made from three different types of fabric, which was the norm before oil wealth transformed the Gulf region. The visible lower part of the pants is made from the more expensive material. The hidden top part was generally made from cotton or either lower grade or leftover silk remnants. Cotton was normally the preferred choice as it was more functional. It breathes better and is more durable than silk; especially important for a garment that is in constant contact with the body.
In this example, gold & silver brocaded red silk () in an arabesque floral pattern was used for the more visible portions of the underpants, with the flowers delicately delineated in dark blue or green outlines. The top sections were stitched of two red coloured cotton fabrics; a lighter red is used on the gusset () found on the crutch area, while darker denser red cotton was used on the remainder of the top portion.
The decorative 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.