Female outer garments in Medieval Arabic art
Female depictions in miniatures and manuscript artwork are very limited in their variety and amount. The few that we have are often in an outdoor scenario, with a few passing depictions of their daily indoor attire. Surviving textual sources from the recent past and before the modern age indicate that Muslim women wore different clothes in the privacy of their homes than they wore in public spaces. A standard practice for a medieval woman was to wear several layers of clothing in the house, and out of doors, she wore several layers more. Then, how did they layer their tunics and headgear?
Since women were often swathed in large concealing wraps outside their homes, they dressed how they preferred inside their private quarters. The paucity of artwork depicting Medieval Arab women in their indoor attires leaves us with a lot of guesswork and speculation on how they fashioned their hair, gowns, and headdresses when in the confines of their homes or with the company of other females.
Lanes‘ account of the modern Egyptians was the only comprehensive and detailed written account of Arab female fashions that specifically revealed what a typical Muslim Eastern woman would dress like inside her intimate quarters, but it was written as late as the early late 19th century and by that time Egypt had long been an Ottoman province, a period exceeding the scope and timeline of this article series.
An Arab Omani princess also wrote her memoir in 1844 documenting her life as a Princess in Zanzibar. Her accounts provide a rare insight into the contemporary customs of the East, their habitats, daily routines, celebrations, and dress. This is a monumental work since it is the first piece of literature recording the contemporary habitat and living situation of an upper-class Arab family from a first-person point of view, let alone a woman’s.
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Beginning from the conquest of Egypt by the Ottomans in 1519, the dominant tastes in clothing slowly gave way to the high fashions worn by Turkish court elites in Istanbul, a far cry from those worn in Mameluke, Abbasid, and Fatimid Egypt. Naturally, high-born Egyptian women were primarily clad in Ottoman fashions. The Yelek, entari, and caftan were the basic articles of clothing worn by most wealthy and upper-class Cairene women. Large and swathing tunics, namely the galabiyah, were mainly worn by the lower castes of society called the fellaheen or Egyptian peasantry.
In the Islamic Middle Ages, female tunics seen in Arabic art across various mediums largely had a close-fitting and round neck opening, but also there were other shapes like a keyhole neckline, a V-shaped neckline, a sweetheart neckline, an open lapel collar neckline, or a wrap-over outer dress–with the latter two being an influence from Transoxania.
Tunics were consistently depicted as either wide or tight-sleeved with golden-colored Tiraz armbands with pseudo-kufic inscriptions, positioned on the upper arm. The shape of the sleeves varied, some were wide and boxy like a Dalmatica, and others were rectangular and tapered or rectangular with a bell-shaped finish. The necklines, cuffs, hems, and arms were also decorated with golden-colored bands.
According to Yedidda Stillman’s study of the Cairo Geniza trousseaux from the period of the 11th-13th century Cairo, she states in her dissertation Thesis Female Attire in Medieval Egypt that tunics in the Islamic Middle Ages were decorated with silk (probably applied bands on the hems and sleeves), embroidery, prints, gilding, tassels, fringes, or an ornamented border.
Wide-sleeved tunics depicted in Arab manuscript art greatly resembled the European Bliaud/bliaut with their long and tapering sleeves. This style of dress is still witnessed to this day in Levantine dress, particularly the traditional Thobes (gowns) worn by Palestinian women.
Similarly to Medieval Europe, the construction of tunics was achieved from multiple panel pieces (gussets, sleeves, and gores) sewn to the main body of the tunic, an influence said to have originated from Sassanid Persia. There was also a woven-to-shape construction based on the simple seaming of Coptic Egypt and the Arab lands, where they were woven in a large cross or T-shaped style with the sleeves shaped while the fabric was on the loom, and the selvages were joined to form horizontal or vertical seams.
Ladies of the Caliphal court had their garments specifically tailored for them either by a dedicated seamstress or in the court’s tiraz workshops, whereas poor women relied on hand sewing their garments from fabrics that were hand spun at home or store-bought if a little bit of cash was spared.
It seems that male and female tunics were identical in construction and style but varied in length, with women’s tunics tending to be longer, falling below the knee or at floor length. The distinctive feature of women’s gowns lay in their myriad colors and multiplicity of decoration. Women wore more colorful and patterned gowns with elaborate embroidery. There was also a wider range of fabric selections ranging from silk blends, satins, and brocades (fabrics heavily proscribed for men by Islamic jurisprudence), to soft, sheer Egyptian linens (disliked for men), and high-quality cottons (suitable for both genders).
The tunics’ fabric type, colors, patterns, and embroidery depended on the woman’s socioeconomic standing. Bedouin and peasant women wore plain fabrics and chose more abstract and simple motifs inspired by the surrounding environments for their embroidery. In contrast, women living in big metropolitan cities wore more luxurious fabrics and had more refined and sophisticated motifs and designs.
Garments were constructed by professional craftsmen in the art of pattern making, weaving, sewing, and embroidery. Medieval sources show that the most prevalent colors for tunics were white, yellow, blue, green, pistachio, pearl-colored, ruby, reddish violet, sand-colored, wax-colored, and white-grey.
Fabric choices varied based on the socioeconomic status of the wearer. Wealthy ladies and elite women had access to the most sumptuous kinds of silks and brocades, either made locally or imported from countries with established traditions in sericulture like Iran, Syria, Tunisia, Sicily, Spain, China, and India. Various kinds of sheer and exquisitely made Egyptian linens were highly sought after. Linen went into making undergarments, outer garments, headwear, and lining.
Cotton was favored in the Arab world as it made it easier to comply with Islamic sumptuary laws. Being an easily adaptable fabric for many climates, the Islamic world transformed cotton from a luxury fabric into an everyday one. For example, some of the earliest forms of true knitting are cotton socks from Egypt with stranded blue and white patterns. Cotton was considered a cheap commodity unlike in Europe, so it was reserved for lining or padding garments, working clothes, or given as alms to orphans.
Wool was undesirable for warm climates, but blends of wool with other fibers were also used for making garments. Goitein mentions that Wool was infrequently used in garment making in Egypt in the 11th century, especially in summer since the heat is prone to cause vermin and other damage. Yet in winter, garments were usually lined with fur or wool for extra warmth. Urban dwellers and townspeople who had access to finer and more delicate fabrics developed an aversion to wool for its rough and scratchy sensation on the skin. The elite and caliphs were rarely mentioned wearing garments made out of wool, except for the austerely pious. (Check out my article on Islamic Textiles in The Middle Ages)
Tunics could vary in their ornamentation, design, or heft according to the occasion where they were worn. Female segregation from the outside world meant that women would only wear these dresses in the domestic domain among close family or female friends. Fancy robes or gala gowns worn on festive occasions were formal and more ornate with decorated bands and embellishments and usually had a lining or fur trimmings for winter seasons. These were kept in pristine conditions, carefully washed, ironed, and stored in chests with perfumed sachets and moth repellents.
A semi-formal lounging gown worn in the house combined functions of comfort and beauty. Gowns worn inside the house to walk in during daily routines, or to meet with guests or relatives were more casual and less ornate than those worn on special celebrations but were decent enough to be displayed in front of others. If a woman was preoccupied with housework or physical labor, a plain housedress was worn, providing comfort and most importantly functionality. House dresses for daily chores were constructed of cotton or other inexpensive materials and were plain, which lessened the hassle of laundry. They were designed for labor-intensive tasks and were frequently exposed to sweat, dirt, and grime.
Women could wear multiple gowns or tunics on top of each other or a singular ostentatious robe over a plain one. Inside the house, the order of layers was as follows: over the undergarment, usually a chemise and drawers, a woman may sport an outer tunic or multiple ones, a long-sleeved one under a shorter sleeved one, then an outer robe or overgrown is worn on top combined with appropriate headwear and an enveloping cloak or wrap when stepping outside.
Extant tunics that have survived the Middle Ages, show that the sleeves of tunics were long and rectangular or sometimes wide and box-like. The sartorial tradition of these tunics has been consistently carried over to the modern age. The construction of tunics or traditional dresses or robes and their embroidery from various Arab countries in Arabia (Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Qatar), Egypt (Siwa, desert oasis, Sinai), and Levant (Syria, Jordan, Palestine) still retains the same sewing techniques.
Long, wide sleeve bliaud dress/robe
Very long sleeves
Long, bell sleeve tunics and a mantle
Long, wide-sleeve tunic with/out a head-covering
Long, tight-sleeved tunics worn outdoors with a modesty mantle/veil
Long, tight-sleeved tunics worn indoors
Dresses/tunics with open-lapel collars
Coats/jackets
Open-lapel collared caftans and qaba coats were worn by elite women, especially those from the Turkic military dynasties that ruled the Eastern Arab world.
Cross-over/wrap dresses
Indoor short-sleeved dresses/robes worn over a long-sleeved one
Yedida Stillman writes that Medieval Egyptian women wore short-sleeved robes and gowns inside their homes like the Jukkaniya and Makhtuma.
Short tunic/blouses
Short tunics or blouse-like shirts called dir’ or badan were worn as undergarments or indoor lounging garments. Arabic lexicons describe the dir’ as a short shirt worn by young slave girls.
Modern-day tunic vs Medieval tunic
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in an article in Aramco World, I read about one of the traditional garments worn by women in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, and the Gulf countries, It consists of an embroidered sirwal, an embroidered inner tunic with tight sleeves called a dir’a (qamis), and a loose-fitting tunic with very long, wide sleeves, usually with a round neckline with a buttoned opening, called a thawb or thobe.
This thobe is richly embroidered in many regional styles, usually around the buttoned chest opening ( except the Emirati style, which is square neckline with no slit, and is embroidered with a square panel around the neckline ), with parallel embroidered bands on the seam joining the main panel to the side panels, and bands on the sleeve hems and bottom hem. The embroidery depicts flora, plant motifs, medallions, and arabesques. In the most lavish cases, it is done with gold or silver thread and embellished with precious sequins.
One such thobe, called a “thobe al-nashal,” with a fully embroidered center panel, is considered the most elegant and expensive of all styles. Both Bedouin and urban women traditionally wore this attire to weddings, combined with a variety of jewelry such as necklaces, tiaras, crowns, bracelets, gold niqabs, and richly embroidered precious sequins headscarves.
In this article, it is stated that this traditional garment of the modern countries of the Arabian Peninsula, composed of the sirwal, the dir’a, and the thawb, as well as the characteristic embroidery, has its origins in the Umayyad and Abbasid periods, and that it was already used as ceremonial attire by women of the court during these periods. Is this true?.
Thank you Jose for your comment. I am not an Islamic textile expert or a historian, I am someone who is simply passionate about those two subjects. So, take what I say with a grain of salt.
The claim by the article that the thawb al-nashal could trace its origins from the Abbasid or Umayyad period can’t be fully substantiated since we don’t have first-hand descriptions, visual depictions, or even extant garments from the Umayyad period or early Abbasid period which can aid us in pinpointing the types of apparels worn at the time by women or their decorations.
However, we have several extant garments from around the 10th and 12th centuries from Egypt that look quite similar to the modern Gulf thawbs.
There is one extant garment in particular, found in the George Washington University Museum, that is from Egypt and is claimed to have been commissioned by the Abbasid Caliph Al-muqtadir (which I provided above). The gown or tunic is a linen tunic with tiraz-style embroidery in Kufic calligraphy. The shape is quite loose, and straight, with the sleeves cut in a very boxy shape with gussets in different shapes. There is also another similar gown found in the Ashmolean Museum, from Egypt but is from the Fatimid period (11th-12th century). Just like the Abbasid gown, it is quite spacious with wide boxy sleeves with silk-thread embroidery.
So, the silhouette of a boxy and loose overgown was arguably present during the 10th century, at least. Also, the Jewish trousseau list set during the Fatimid and ayyubid dynasties (contemporary to Abbasid rule in Baghdad) mentions that thawbs were popular garments brought by the bride in her trousseau. The thawbs had different kinds of embellishments applied to them as I mentioned above. Now, we don’t really know the cut and design of these fatimid thawbs based on literary descriptions alone, but based on Fatimid iconography, they were usually spacious with long and wide sleeves.
There is a depiction of a banquet scene in an illuminated manuscript of Maqamat al-Hariri (13th century), where bedouins (men and women) are preparing a feast, and the women are clad in the loose, wide, boxy-sleeved gowns similar to the thawbs worn today.
Granted, the thawbs depicted in the Maqamat manuscript had different styles of embellishments, however, gold-thread embroidery was a very popular decorative technique in Islamic textiles, especially those that were tailored for the upper echelons.
Various historical references have reported that the wives, sisters, and mothers of the Abbasid caliphs were always dressed in exquisite gowns with goldwork embroidery and gemstones. Inventory lists of royal women of deceased caliphs are filled with references to the treasures left by those women, including sumptuous garments, headwear, and jewelry.
So, in my own humble opinion, there could be an argument made about modern gulf thawbs, not necessarily the thobe al-nashal itself, but thobes with a boxy loose shape and goldwork decorations having some sort of distant ancestor from the Abbasid period (albeit having different motifs, colors, fabric type, and embroidery), but it needs further investigation.
Thank you very much for your clarification. I found the origins traced in the article about the thawb al nashal strange, as I didn’t imagine an 8th or 9th-century dress to be identical to a 19th- and 20th-century folk dress. However, looking at the surviving tunics and artistic representations, it’s clear that the cut and construction method are the same as those of modern tunics.
I suppose a thawb from that period would have been aesthetically different, although the patterns and shapes were very similar. It’s a shame. Since I like historically accurate figures and, at the same time, I love traditional Arab clothing and embroidery, it wasn’t hard for me to imagine an Umayyad or Abbasid princess or queen dressed in a beautiful modern thawb. But there’s no doubt that medieval tunics must have been beautiful too.
I have to tell you that I’ve done a little research on this, but I’m interested in the opinion of someone who has studied the subject and does so with knowledge of the facts, since you are part of this rich culture.
However, although the fabric and embroidery may not have been identical, there are certain characteristics in folk costumes that are similar to medieval ones. For example, in the Gulf costume we have been discussing, the order of the garments is the same as that of medieval Arab women. First, the sirwal. Then, the narrow-sleeved inner tunic, which has different regional names and is equivalent to the medieval qamis. Finally, the outer tunic, or thawb.
Regarding embroidery in general, in modern traditional tunics it is usually found on the chest area, shoulders, sleeve cuffs, and bottom hem, as well as on the seams that join the tunic panels. This characteristic placement of embroidery is present in the costumes of virtually all Arab regions, be it Palestine, Saudi Arabia, or the Bedouin communities of Sinai. It is not only present in the Arab world, but in the Islamic world in general, as well as in regions that have historically had Islamic influence. It is seen in places as far afield as Morocco and Afghanistan, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Turkey, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Turkish regions of Russia, and Muslim India.
This characteristic embroidery, commonly a square panel on the chest, or bands and motifs embroidered around the opening of a tunic, as well as on the seams, hems, and cuffs, possibly originates from Coptic and Byzantine tunics. In Byzantine art, we see tunics following a similar style of embroidery, located in the same places. Even an embroidered cuff similar to the tiraz was typical of Byzantine tunics. The motifs depicted are also consistent, especially the arabesques, with the exception that Muslims developed an aversion to the depiction of mythological animals (something common in Byzantine embroidery).
There are artistic references (for example, in the Maqamat al-Hariri), and even material evidence on surviving tunics, that Arab tunics in the Middle Ages already featured embroidery in the chest area or around the opening of the tunic, a characteristic feature of modern folk tunics. There is also written reference to garments that were embroidered in the chest area from the early Abbasid period.
The popularity of this “Byzantine-style” embroidery throughout the Islamic world probably dates back to the Umayyad and Abbasid periods, as these two dynasties were heavily influenced by Byzantium. Its presence throughout the Islamic world could be another indication that it spread during the Umayyad and Abbasid periods, when the Arab world extended over this vast region and was heavily influenced by Byzantium.
Regarding the origin of the thawb al nashal in the courts of the Umayyad and Abbasid periods, it is certainly impossible to demonstrate this without historical or written representations or references to it. However, it is possible to identify a similar embroidery style from that period. Some Byzantine, Sassanian, and Parthian representations show royal and noble figures wearing tunics with fully embroidered central panels (there are even Byzantine women’s tunics that are very reminiscent of the shape of modern women’s thawbs). Since the Umayyad and Abbasid courts were greatly influenced by the Byzantine and Sassanid courts, it is very likely that these styles were imitated by the Islamic court. Although the aesthetic appearance of these garments was possibly very different from that of a modern thawb al nashal, I believe it could be a possible precursor to this tunic.
I really like your blog and the research you do, as I’m also passionate about the history, fashion, and culture of past civilizations, including the Arab and Islamic ones. As you mentioned at the end, if you think it’s worth investigating the traditional Gulf tunic or full dress, and its possible origins in the medieval period, further research would be very interesting to me.
Yes, although it’s tempting to think that Arab dress, especially within the peninsula had stayed relatively untouched since Peninsular Arabs are known to be insular and don’t succumb easily to change due to their unbridled bedouin nature. However, despite how insular or conservative a culture might be, I don’t think it’s feasible to have a vestimentary system having aesthetic continuity lasting for a period of 1000+ years as there are bound to be foreign influences making their way into dress by way of trade, conquest or changing tastes and times.
We can’t forget that the Arabian peninsula, even before Islam, have had economic, cultural, and political ties to surrounding regions in the pan-mediterranean, Iran, Mesopotamia, East Africa, and most importantly, the Indian subcontinent. The geographic situation of the Arabian peninsula, especially South Arabia (Oman and Yemen) on the Indian Ocean trade routes made it susceptible to large influences from the Indian subcontinent (it’s particularly noticeable in the cuisine, jewelry, and clothing).
As to what you alluded on the similarity between the order of layers between the modern folk dress and their medieval counterpart (underpants, body shirt or under tunic, outer robe), that I completely agree, as I’ve come to that conclusion myself as well. Medieval islamic-style tunics which survived archeological diggings (the majority being from Medieval Egyptian tombs) have decorative embroidery around the chest panel which corresponds to the decorative styles of many Arab folk costumes. The 13th century tunics of the Maronite mummies display similar decorative embroidery in an almost identical manner to contemporary folk levantine dress. (but there needs to be further study on the embroidery motifs in both medieval garments and modern folk ones to conclusively determine the degree of similarity)
The similarity between byzantine textile decorations and Medieval islamic textiles, mainly the decorative bands on the cuffs and necklines, could be only explained by the fact that the institution of tiraz (textile workshops) was overtaken by the Arab Muslims from the Byzantines after they conquered Byzantine territories in the Mediterranean. The Umayyads and Abbasid further developed the tiraz workshop system and enhanced it further. Islamic textiles became a highly sought-after commodity across the Mediterranean and the Islamic world. This might’ve facilitated the dispersement of this textile art into the regions across the Islamic world.
The shape of thawb al-nashal is indeed reminiscent of Roman Dalmatic tunics (famously depicted in North African Roman villa mosaic art) worn by ancient Roman women, but again we fall into the same conundrum since we don’t have direct material evidance of extant garments from those periods that we could examine and compare to the modern counterpart. We have to be careful to not make broad generalizations on dress based on surface level observation since various factors play a part in shaping the visual identity of cultural dress. Clothing is not only a reflection of emanating influences but it also accommodates local climate and socioreligious contexts. The functionality and typology of clothing worn by desert-dwellers is different from those worn by the mountain-dwellers. However, I get your point about a trans-continental dissemination of textile decorations happening, but again it needs further investigation.
I have some sources (although in Arabic) on Gulf folk dress in my drive I can link them to you if you want?
I agree. It’s not logical that a clothing system has remained unchanged for 1,000 years. But given that the inhabitants of Arabia are traditional and deeply rooted in their customs, there hasn’t been an abrupt change as happened in other civilizations that were culturally assimilated, or their saltorial methods innovated due to technological advances that occurred over time. However, in the Arab world, this tradition seems to have remained fairly uniform. Obviously, I’m talking about adaptation and evolution of existing garments, but practically no new garments have been added.
It’s true that Indian influence is very palpable in the Arab culture of the Arabian Peninsula, especially in the Gulf and the south. However, I believe that Indians also have influences from the Arabian Peninsula, that both cultures have fed off each other since ancient times. It’s also evident that both Arabs and Indians have been strongly influenced by the Persians. The jewelry styles are certainly very reminiscent of those worn by Indian women, especially the headdresses and headbands. These styles of Indian jewelry appear to have been present in the medieval Arab world.
It’s true. The Gulf thawbs, including the nashal, are very similar to the Roman wide-sleeved tunics (dalmatics). Some styles of Byzantine tunics were also very similar. Therefore, they are likely of Roman or Byzantine origin.
I’m interested in everything related to Arab clothing and culture, including the Gulf. If you have more information on this subject, it would be very helpful.
Wonderful! Please contact me on my email nehalshallal780@gmail.com and I’ll send you the materials!