Object History
This object was purchased by Dr. Reem Tariq El Mutwalli from a dealer, in France in 2022. Dr. Reem eventually added the item to The Zay Initiative collections to enrich it.
Object Features
This is a women’s Algerian traditional waist-length short jacket (karakou) made of navy-blue velvet featuring embroidered embellishment and long sleeves.
A front open jacket reminiscent of Ottoman style (çepken) it is embellished with (dival)/(sarma) embroidery in metal threads possibly silver. The front lapels of the jacket display a European Rococo-inspired floral arrangement with a central floral wreath and wavy vines and foliage around it. This is followed by a thick panel of feather-like line that runs parallelly up the neckline and across the shoulders along the seams.
The sleeves of the jacket have repeats of coin-size floral motifs and a corner floral arrangement of a thick bouquet with several flowers and foliage along wavy vines and branches. It emerges from the corner formed by the two frames on the sleeves, one along the side and the other along the cuff.
The frame is composed of the same feather pattern and encases a wavy vine of floral and foliage motifs. A similar frame embellishes the front of the cuffs. This encases an arrangement of a central floral bouquet that is flanked by wavy floral vines. The backs of the cuffs are also embroidered but with a far less ostentatious design. It displays a (fleur_de_lis) bouquet at the centre with wavy vines around it and lacks framing.
The karakou is lined with a blue silk of (satin) weave fabric and can be fastened by metal tab buttons which are attached near the edge of the front opening. However, the two ends are not to be fastened to one another. Instead, the tab buttons suggest that it is to be fastened to the garment worn underneath it to keep it in place.
The karakou sleeves often feature ornate cutwork trimmings reminiscent of Ottoman-style (uçetek_entari) sleeves. This particular karakou shares similarities with Ottoman çepken and (yelek). These resemblances stem from the significant influence of Ottoman rule in North African nations – Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt – which extended into neighbouring regions like Morocco and Spain.
More Details
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the transformation of the women’s wardrobe in Algiers appeared more pronounced compared to other Algerian urban areas. A new equilibrium dictated the arrangement of costumes as traditional open clothing gradually disappeared. The diminutive firmlah and ghlilah gave way to a broad and short shirt, the qmedjah, which stood alone as it utilized sturdy fabrics. Embroidered tulle was reserved solely for the sleeves. Amongst the antique pieces crafted from velvet or brocade adorned with embroidery and gold embellishments, the ghlilah was the sole survivor. It underwent changes, losing its volume, oval neckline, and some ornaments to adopt a more modest neckline, a graceful basque, and a fitted cut, earning it the name karakou derived from the term camisole.
Links
- Belkaïd, Leyla, and Paul Balta. Algeroises: Histoire d’un Costume Mediterraneen. Edisud, 1998.
- Belkaïd, Leyla. Costumes d’algérie. Editions Du Layeur, 2003.
- Pichault, Pradette. Le Costume Traditionnel Algérien. Maisonneuve & Larose, 2007.
- Montaldo, Elisabetta, and Clotilde Sarnico. L’oro Del Mare: L’antico Costume Delle Donne Di Procida. Libreria Dante & Descartes, 2009.
- Snoap, Morgan, “Algerian Women’s Waistcoats – The Ghlila and Frimla: Readjusting the Lens on the Early French Colonial Era in Algeria (1830-1870)” (2020). Honors Program Theses. 114. https://scholarship.rollins.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1113&context=honors
- Belkaïd Neri, Leyla. “Croisements et Hybridations Des Modes Vestimentaires.” Paraître et Apparences En Europe Occidentale Du Moyen Âge à Nos Jours – Croisements et Hybridations Des Modes Vestimentaires, Presses universitaires du Septentrion, 1 Jan. 1970, https://books.openedition.org/septentrion/57558
- “UNESCO – Rites and Craftsmanship Associated with the Wedding Costume Tradition of Tlemcen.” Intangible Cultural Heritage, https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/rites-and-craftsmanship-associated-with-the-wedding-costume-tradition-of-tlemcen-00668
- https://www.mahj.org/fr/decouvrir-collections-betsalel/gilet-19172
- “Home.” Nationalclothing.Org, https://nationalclothing.org/africa/48-algeria/566-algerian-folk-clothing-from-different-regions-of-the-country.html
- https://algerianculture.tumblr.com/post/37551143532/76945-costume-researchand-more-algerian
- https://istizada.com/arab-clothing-the-ultimate-guide/
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