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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

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Iraq Middle Eastern or Saudi Arabian Syrian, Iraq Syria

Man's head cloth (keffiyeh), 1800s
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Arabian Peninsula Saudi Arabian

Man's head cloth (keffiyeh), 1949
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Syrian

Man's head rope (agal), late 1800s-early 1900s
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Indonesian Javanese, Java Cirebon

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

Men's shirt (thōb), 1949
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Arabian Peninsula Saudi Arabian, Arabian Peninsula

Men's trousers (sarwal), 1949
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Saudi Arabian, Arabian Peninsula

Man's cloak (bisht), 1949
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North African Algerian, Algeria

Man’s Cloak (Aba), 1910
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Turkish, Ottoman Empire

Man's robe (kaftan), 1700s
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Yulnara Atanaazarova, designer

Man's robe (chapan), 2000
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Indian Kashmiri, Kashmir

Chogha (man's robe), late 1800s
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Syrian, Syria

Man's or woman's robe, 1800s
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Indian, Varanasi

Chogha (man's robe), 1800s
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Mindanao Philippine, Mindanao

Men's trousers (sawal), ca. 1960
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Persian, persia

Anteri (Woman's robe), 1800s
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Albanian

Woman's robe (yelek), late 1800s
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Syrian, Syria

Woman's dress (thōb), early 1900s
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Palestinian Syrian, Palestine, Bethlehem

Woman's dress (thōb), 1800s
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Yemen, Yemen, Tihameh

Woman's dress (thōb), ca. 1930
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Turkmen Turcoman

woman's cloak (chyrpy), 1930s
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Afghan

Woman's dress (thob), 1900s
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Persian, Persia

Woman's jacket (yahl, ausin sambusedar), ca. 1850-1900
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Indian Gujarati, Rajasthan Gujarat

Woman's tunic (kurta), mid 1800s
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Saudi Arabian, Arabian Peninsula

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

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

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

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

Man's turban, early 1900s
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Uzbek, Uzbekistan

Woman's cap, early 1900s
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Turkish, Turkey

Man's prayer cap, early 1900s
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Afghan Iranian, Afghanistan Iran

Man's prayer cap, 1800s
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Middle Eastern

Man's prayer cap, Early 1900s
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Iranian, Iran

Man's dervish cap, early 1900s
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North African Algerian, Algeria

Man's prayer cap, 1900s
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Turkish, Turkey

Man's hat (fez), late 1800s
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Thai, Thailand Siam

Man's prayer cap, early 1900s
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Arabian, Arabian Peninsula

Man's head rope (agal), 1949
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Moroccan, Morocco

Man's robe (kaftan), 1900s
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Afghan, Afghanistan, Kabul

Woman's dress and veil (chaadaree), 1977
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Rezia Wahid

Mosque in Rome I, 2007
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Turkish, Ottoman Empire

Woman's trousers (salwar), ca. 1910
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Egyptian, Egypt

Woman's robe (yelek), 1800s

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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