Assuit shimmering

"Fabric of Egypt"

Ancient Asyut is where we find the beginnings of this beautiful fabric from an ancient Egyptian city from which the name of the fabric is derived.

The early Egyptian Zawty (late Egyptian, Səyáwt) adopted into the Coptic as Syowt , which means "Guardian" of the northern approach of Upper Egypt. In Graeco-Roman Egypt, it was called Lycopolis. It is from this historic and ancient city rich in tradition and a wealth of imported goods that the fabric was created and traded and sold. Asyut was the capital of the Thirteenth Nome of Upper Egypt (Lycopolites Nome) around 3100 BC. It was located on the western bank of the Nile.There were two prominent gods of Ancient Egyptian Asyut, Anubis and Wepwawet, both funerary deities. Asyut was the end of 40 Day Road that connected the city to Darfur. The history of the road, known by local herders as Darb al-Arba'in, goes back over 700 years. It was used as a pathway for great caravans of up to 12,000 camels at its peak in the 14th century.

Tahia Carioca 1946 “El sabr tayib"

Now lets get to the Fabric. Tulle-bi-telli, also known as Tally or Assuit, is a textile marrying cotton or linen mesh with small strips of metal. The fabric is not documented prior to the 19th century, though similar textiles existed in the Middle East in earlier times. Other spellings include assuite, asyut, assyut, asyute, and azute. The name translates roughly as "net with metal". Assuit has great lateral elasticity, thanks to its openwork mesh. It is heavy, and retains heat, but is favored for its ability to drape and the shimmer of the metal.

The mesh base material is called bobbinet, which is now a machine-made fabric made of cotton or, in older pieces, linen. The embroidery is applied by hand. Thin strips of alloy are threaded onto a flat, wide needle with a flat, wide eye. Alloy is most often used because pure silver will blacken with age and can be impossible to clean, and gold would be too costly but there are pieces with silver and gold plate.

Each strip is approximately 1/8" wide and 18" to 24" long. The strips are threaded into the mesh, criss-crossed, flattened with the fingernails, and cut. The fabric is then stamped down, and when the designs are finished, the fabric is passed through a roller to flatten the metal even more. Artists generally sell their embroidery work by the kg.

Through history, metal thread embroidery has been used extensively throughout the Middle East, Asia, and parts of Europe. References are made to its use with Egyptian linen in the Bible. Also, 3,000‑year‑old specimens of netting made with flax are preserved in the Museum of Montbijou, Berlin.

With Assuit the hand-made net becomes one of intricate design; each net composed of some 365 individual fibers. The fabric is usually knotted with strips of brass, copper, silver or gold, however sometimes cheaper metals were plated with gold or silver to achieve the shimmering effect.

The dye techniques used were equally sophisticated; metallic salts to improve the fastness of dyes has been found in textiles in tombs dating from before 1500 BC. These early embroideries were done with the application of precious metals, especially gold. The pure metal was beaten into thin plates, divided into small slips which were rounded by a hammer, and then filed to form wire. Few remains of ancient wire work have been found.

Asyut:

The city is one of the only cities in the world that still makes silver appliqué-work shawls and is home to a large textile industry. The city also produces fine pottery, inlaid woodwork, and rugs.

Assuit shawls were very much in demand in Cairo in the mid 1920’s, the output was greater between 1908 and 1912. In 1897, Egypt claimed over 9,000 tailors but by 1917, that figure had reached 29,000 comprising tailors, clothiers and costumers. Much of the increase was probably in part due to disruptions in Europe during the Great War and to the European fashions of Upper-class Europeans favoring flowing robes and turbans in the height of the Art Deco Movement.

Tulle-bi-telli lends itself particularly well to the style and fashions of Art Deco and was in high demand.

For dresses, robes and shawls, the rich and the famous vied with each other to wear clothing made from these shawls.

As movies pushed popularity we also saw socialites and even royalty bringing this luxurious and exotic fabric home or was it vise versa?

Lady Carnarvon 1915 Photo: Earl of Carnarvon

Mrs Paul Abbott(Elise Everett) by Edward Steichen. 1924

Just what was it that made Assuit so popular?

In the late 19th century, Orientalism became very popular and tourism to the Middle East grew. Merchants in the town of Asyut began making shawls by using Turkish metal embroidery on leftover mosquito nets, perhaps in imitation of these ancient fabrics. Locally called tulle bitalli ("plated" or "coated"), it was named "Assuit" after the city in which it was sold. As it became more popular, bobbinet material was used, but it continued (and still continues) to be hand-embroidered.

Since Cleopatra stole the hearts of Julius Caesar and Marc Antony, the Western world has been mesmerized by the ancient world of Egypt.

The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb by Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter in 1922 unleashed an unprecedented surge of Egyptomania during the age of the flapper. Where there was already an increase in orientalisim, the opening of the boy pharaoh’s tomb caused an international press frenzy and photographs from the excavation were sent across the world. It undoubtedly had an aesthetic impact. Capturing the public’s imagination with a sudden appetite for garments and accessories that adopted Ancient Egypt-inspired motifs, textiles, patterns and colors.

Silent Film & Stage.

With the advent of the film industry, movie moguls such as DW Griffiths and Cecil B Demille took to the exoticism of the East for their stage settings. Such as the lost Opus Cleopatra and Intolerance.

Cecil B Demille's Cleopatra featuring Claudette Colbert 1934vice

D.W. Griffiths Intolerance 1916

Theda Bara 1917 Cleopatraice

Rudolph Valentino in the young Raja 1922 Clara Bow in IT 1927

1907 Assuit dress from the Merry widow actress Lilly Elise

Hedy Lamar wearing Egyptian Assuit two piece dress in the movie Samson & Delilah 1949

Egyptian Cinema

As the US was having a golden era of film so was Egypt, creating grand sets with multiple dancers and full orchestras anchoring dancers into history and into the hearts of Egyptians. Music and dance is still a major part of life in Egypt.

Producers and choreographers found inspiration in American performers such as Gene Kelly and Ginger Rogers.

Naima Akif "Lahalibo" 1949

Samia Gamal with Farid el Atrache

Tahia Carioca 1946 “El sabr tayib"

Vintage Assuit from Shahravars private collection, What makes it so special?

The accompaniment of the original shipping linen bag hand painted and sealed with wax from Port Said to the owner. We were able to document their tenancy of the house around 20's-40's.

It is in near pristine condition with just a light tarnish on a small section of the embroidery (perhaps from the wax seal, i have not yet tried to clean that)

The tree and gate pattern with diamond center is beautiful.

Modern Assuit fabric is still being created today, as machine technology develops of course we create modern versions of ancient wonders. It is still hand embroidery but the metal threads can be made by machine now. The fabric is quite affordable long lasting and with many colors to choose from and increased availability there is not a fear to cut into it for costume creation.

We even have Faux Tulle bi telly fabric avilable now, it is generally metallic raised print on a soft stretch lycra fabric, very easy to sew very easy to wear in costuming. Here are a few photographic samples below. Shahravar & Amina in Faux assuit by Melodia

Lets get back to traditional Tally have a look at the symbols that make up the recognizable patterns in the fabric. Of course we see geometry with borders, diamonds & V shapes. We also see more complex patterns with stars, coptic crosses, camels, waves, fountains, combs, gates,dancers, tents, vase-urn, wheat, papyrus and a few more.

Shawls come in different sizes, shapes and colors: most are long and narrow and the designs vary, ranging from the simple to the elaborate. Worn draped over the head, as wraps and as wedding gowns. They can also be used for decoration: Piano shawls were extremely popular and specimens can still be found occasionally in antique shops. Some people believe designs have been passed down through families, as with weaving and other types of embroidery work. Some designs appear to be intentionally left incomplete. The most popular shapes are diamonds, triangles and images of dancers, camels, urns, papyrus, flowers, and tents. Coptic Christian designs often have animal and human figures, whereas Muslim shawls rely on geometric designs. Occasionally in some places, Assuit shawls are incorrectly referred to as Coptic shawls. You can see a collection of embroidered symbols below.

And as you can tell the Faux and modern fabric are cool and I love them but they do not have the same weighted drape of the Vintage Assuit.

Looking at these images you can see a very different design and fabric between vintage and faux Assuit. Hand tinted card of Princess Mazilla early 1900's

And then we have Legendary Farida Famy 70's in a red Assuit dress.

Assuit has been utilized on the runway & stage

in new modern styles, what is hard to tell here is if they used vintage or or very high quality modern tally. The great couture houses such as Dior and Jean-Paul Gaultier reworked the styles but the fabric always remained true to it’s original beauty.

Galliano for Dior 1997 and again 1998

Lenny Kravitz has a passion for Tally

Donatella Versace 2019

Barbra Streisand A star is born '76

Ciara ad late 80's

Tally can be viewed in so many places now that you know what you are looking for, as a costumer I love to see people save vintage pieces that have damage from tarnish and holes from pins, mending can be done but it is challenging to recreate the exact weave of the mesh. Some tarnish from sweat or stains can be lifted with a cold water wash with delicate fragrance free detergent like downy free but there is a risk anytime you are working with fabric that is over 100 years old. You must be sure to air dry is as quickly as possible to not degrade the metal that is used for the embroidery. The ivory color fabric is the most challenging and also the rarest to survive in good shape. For storage I recommend acid free tissue paper and moisture absorbing sachet (not touching the fabric) then an air tight bag or container.

Assuit has come back into popularity with dancers and finding a modern piece in a multitude of colors is quite east and affordable. Assuit has remained popular with Egyptian Bellydancers through the years.

Stunning 70's Nagwa Fouad Epic recent Fifi Abdou

Many vintage pieces have been put up on the market now that there is a bigger demand for the vintage fabrics a well cared for shawl can sell for up to $3,000 you can find them in vintage stores and also auction houses or if you are lucky in Egypt. But until then we can enjoy oogling all of the beautiful Tulle bi telli in photos and videos and in dancers costumes.

Shahravar Vintage Assuit

Photo: Nikki Chan Wylie

Resources:

https://vintagefashionguild.org/fabric-resource/assuit/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asyut

http://www.kathryngauci.com/blog-35-tulle-bi-telli-shimmering-fabric-assuit/

www.gildedserpent.com/cms/2011/10/03/davina-assiut-assuit

www.faridahfamy.com