Object Note
These underpants (sarwal) are part of a three-piece ensemble, along with the orange tunic (ZI500128 OMAN) and the green Omani overgarment (ZI500128a OMAN).
Object History
On a winter’s day in 2015, Dr. Reem saw a group of female Omani performers at a function held at the desert winter camp of Sheikhah Hamdah bint Mohammed Al Nahyan, the maternal aunt to the late Sheikh Khalifah bin Zayid Al Nahyan. Dr. Reem was very taken by their dresses and ordered this three-piece ensemble from a woman who makes them in Oman, not thinking that one day they would form a part of the Zay’s Collection.
Object Features
These sarwal pants are made from two materials stitched together. The upper fabric is in a soft cotton voile in black, adorned with white dots and small flowers with dark-green petals and white stems. The bottom material, which starts at the knee, is black satin silk featuring gold stripes, set a centimetre apart. In addition, in three places there are sets of short, gold stripes set between the longer stripes.
The sarwal’s decorative cuffs (badlah) around the ankles are embroidered with silver buttons and geometric shapes in green and dark-brown thread formed with successive seams ending at the top in a zigzag. The garment is opened and closed by means of white zips at the ankle. A large piece of fabric was added to create a gusset (bat) to give the sarwal the required width. The waist is tightened by means of a modern elastic belt, instead of the traditional drawstring cords that were used in the past.
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