Archaeology Magazine - January/February 1986 - 57

(Right) This rare example of copper
ware made in Mecca shows both Islamic
and bedouin design. Diameter, approximately 23 centimeters . (Far right) The
mubarrad, a tray for cooling roasted
coffeebeans, has wooden with brass
tacks and rings and was crafted in
southwest Arabia before 1900. Length ,
approximately 25.5 centimeters.
style- stripes and bands running the
length of the fabric woven with the warpface plain weave technique and cross
bands in tapestry weave. In the strict
Islamic tradition, figures are geometric
and people and animals are seldom depicted. Red, black, white, and camel
color are used in various combinations
with green, blue and orange.
Some of the most striking textiles in
the exhibition are tent fabrics. These are
usually black, the color of the Arabian
goat hair used in their weaving. Outer
tent walls are little adorned, but the panels used as tent dividers have colored
stripes and tassels.
Textiles used for clothing are now frequently machine woven and stitched,
but this has not yet significantly altered
the style of Arab dress, which continues to display many regional variations.
These are unified, however, by common
TraditionalArab costumes are displayed
on life-sizedmannequins for maximum
visibility and realism at Memorial Art
Gallery, Rochester.

features such as the floor length gowns,
long sleeves and loose fit that permits
the circulation of air. Sleeves were often
wing-like, and tied behind the woman's
neck while she works. Dresses are decorated with appliqué, embroidery, buttons, beads, and appliqué. Formerly died
with indigo, they are black, dark green
or red, while the 'abãya or cloak worn
in public is invariably black.
Covering a woman's head is as important in Saudi Arabia as covering her face
(now with a veil or a face mask made of
black gauze). In many regions unmarried
girls wear bukhnuqs, openfaced hoods
extending down their backs; after marriage these are replaced by black shawls
or head cloths decorated with embroidery and buttons, beads or shells.
Both men and women wear sandals
called n'al and in winter soft leather
shoes with wool linings. Western-style
shoes have become popular, but many
bedouin women still go barefoot. Undergarments of both men and women are
now often Western-style.
Typical male costume consists of a

single ankle-length shirt called a thob
with a mandarin or Western collar, usually white and long sleeved, covered with
a square mantle or bisht. Traditional
male headdress is a cloth or gutrah held
in place by a double length of cord and
falling over the shoulders. Martial displays such as cartridge belts, daggers
and other weapons are now worn only on
ceremonialoccasions and in some dances.
Long the Middle Eastern country
most resistant to Western influences and
still opposed to them, oil-rich Saudi
Arabia is being increasingly and inexorably exposed to the forces of change
through the process of urbanization.
A century ago perhaps half the country's population was nomadic or seminomadic; today this has been reduced
to less than one-fifth. The age-old custom of offsetting desert austerity with
brightly colored and patterned objects
is still active, but the traditional crafts
with indiginous dyes and materials are
vanishing. Traditional Crafts of Saudi
Arabia offers visitors a rich harvest from
that tradition: there is still time to see a
fully-caparisoned camel in Philadelphia.

1986
January/February

Archaeology Magazine - January/February 1986

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - January/February 1986