This would look marvellous as an evening stole and make a great Christmas present. Don't be put off by the camels, they are very subtle and add to the charm of the stole.
In John Gillow's excellent book* he tells us that there was a long tradition in the town of Assyut in Upper Egypt of metal work on white, black or blue net. A Coptic Christian speciality it was traditionally used to decorate bridal stoles and when using real silver were sold by weight. When Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered in 1922, Egypt became a tourist destination. Stoles were made and sold to the tourists, popular during the First and Second World Wars. They looked good with 1920s and 1930s dresses. Similar stoles were also produced in Baalbek, Lebanon and in Syria.
The work would have been carried out by men in professional workshops. The silver would have been drawn through dies until very fine, then hammered flat and used to loop through the net.
The deep end borders with horizontal rows of houses, stylised camels, trees and rectangles of silver, the centre with diamonds, all in beaten silvered strip on the black cotton mesh ground,
7ft x 41 in ; 2 x 1.04 m wide
End borders 31 in; 80 cm.
Weight 1 lb 5 oz; 600 g
Very good.
African Textiles. John Gillow p 152.
World Textiles. John Gillow and Bryan Sentance p 208/9.
Price: £225 | $280 | €260
All images and text © meg-andrews.com 2021
