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Introduction

Sartorial Sanctuary

Clothing and Traditions in the Eastern Islamic World
December 19, 2008 - April 26, 2009

If asked to identify typical Islamic dress, many Westerners would likely name the veil and the turban, articles of clothing that are both visually powerful and politically and emotionally charged in today’s world. This exhibition seeks to enlarge upon these monolithic images by exploring a range of garment styles, colors, and motifs worn by Muslim men and women across the reaches of the Islamic world—from North Africa through the Middle East to Southeast Asia—from the 18th to the 21st century. A comparison of specific dress items from various areas in which Islam has thrived reveals fluidity and interaction across ethnicities, but also distinctions spawned by the forces of local culture. Just as interpretations of Islam have emerged and transformed with time and geography since the religion’s establishment in early-7th-century Arabia, so too have the appearance, symbolism, and function of the attire worn by its adherents.

On the whole, the items on display respond to the Quran’s explicit counsel to dress modestly. The loose, enveloping shape of these otherwise stylistically diverse garments—which is to say their common sartorial sanctuary—unites them in accommodating the moral sensibilities advocated by the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad during his lifetime. Together with the requisite to conceal the body’s contours, the obligations to cover one’s head and to wear an additional outer layer in public have formed for centuries the basic guidelines for dressing in accordance with the Muslim way of life (shari’ah). While additional dress recommendations were issued in the time of Muhammad—in regard to avoiding extravagant fabrics, for instance—such prescriptions have tended to relax with the rapid and widespread dissemination of the religion following the Prophet’s death (632 CE).

By the mid-8th century, the Islamic empire stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to Central Asia, and thus incorporated a vast array of cultures and textile traditions. Far from a static tradition, dress in the expansive Islamic world has ceaselessly adapted to suit both requirements of religious belief and local codes distinguishing a person’s social rank, domestic role, tribal affiliation, or geographic origin. From a sumptuous Moroccan brocade kaftan to a stunningly quilted Syrian coat and breathtaking Indian tapestry chogha, the clothing on view in this gallery manifests not only Muslim socio-religious ideals but tradition and honor, intricacy and splendor.

Selected Objects

Saudi Arabian, Arabian Peninsula

Woman's face veil (burqa), ca. 1950

Arabian, Arabian Peninsula

Man's head rope (agal), 1949

Arabian Peninsula Saudi Arabian, Arabian Peninsula

Men's shirt (thōb), 1949

Arabian Peninsula Saudi Arabian, Arabian Peninsula

Men's trousers (sarwal), 1949

Saudi Arabian, Arabian Peninsula

Man's cloak (bisht), 1949

Arabian Peninsula Saudi Arabian

Man's head cloth (keffiyeh), 1949

Turkish, Turkey

Man's hat (fez), late 1800s

Syrian

Man's head rope (agal), late 1800s-early 1900s

Syrian, Syria

Man's or woman's robe, 1800s

Middle Eastern

Woman's face veil (ru-band), 1800s

Egyptian Bedouin, Egypt

Woman's face veil (burqa), Late 1800s-Early 1900s

Indonesian Javanese, Java Cirebon

Iket Kepala (Man's Headcloth), ca. 1850-1900

Middle Eastern

Man's prayer cap, Early 1900s

Moroccan, Morocco

Man's robe (kaftan), 1900s

Turkish, Ottoman Empire

Man's robe (kaftan), 1700s

Palestinian Syrian, Palestine, Bethlehem

Woman's dress (thōb), 1800s

Persian, Persia

Woman's jacket (yahl, ausin sambusedar), ca. 1850-1900

Thai, Thailand Siam

Man's prayer cap, early 1900s

Indian Gujarati, Rajasthan Gujarat

Woman's tunic (kurta), mid 1800s

Syrian, Syria

Woman's dress (thōb), early 1900s

Indonesian Javanese, Java

Man's turban, early 1900s

Persian, persia

Anteri (Woman's robe), 1800s

Afghan, Afghanistan, Kabul

Woman's dress and veil (chaadaree), 1977

Iraq Middle Eastern or Saudi Arabian Syrian, Iraq Syria

Man's head cloth (keffiyeh), 1800s

Egyptian, Egypt

Woman's robe (yelek), 1800s

Iranian, Iran

Man's dervish cap, early 1900s

Afghan

Woman's dress (thob), 1900s

Turkish, Ottoman Empire

Woman's trousers (salwar), ca. 1910

Turkish, Turkey

Man's prayer cap, early 1900s

Middle Eastern

Woman's face veil (ru-band), 1900s

Indian Kashmiri, Kashmir

Choga (Man's Robe), late 1800s

Afghan Iranian, Afghanistan Iran

Man's prayer cap, 1800s

Albanian

Woman's robe (yelek), late 1800s

North African Algerian, Algeria

Man’s Cloak (Aba), 1910

North African Algerian, Algeria

Man's prayer cap, 1900s

Indian, Varanasi

Chogha (man's robe), 1800s

Yemen, Yemen, Tihameh

Woman's dress (thōb), ca. 1930

Mindanao Philippine, Mindanao

Men's trousers (sawal), ca. 1960

Yulnara Atanaazarova, designer

Man's robe (chapan), 2000

Uzbek, Uzbekistan

Woman's cap, early 1900s

Turkmen Turcoman

woman's cloak (chyrpy), 1930s

Rezia Wahid

Mosque in Rome I, 2007

More objects +

Exhibition Checklist

Sartorial Sanctuary : Clothing and Traditions in the Eastern Islamic World

December 19, 2008 - April 26, 2009
View Checklist PDF

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