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Source Description
Egyptians may have innovated <em>tulle-bi-telli</em> (“net with metal,” also called <em>assiut</em>) after the French introduced machine-made netted fabric (tulle) in the late 1800s. It drew from <em>telli,</em> an earlier metal embroidery technique. Diamond and rectangle designs formed by knotting flattened silver wire into black tulle indicate this scarf’s early age in the genre. Urban Egyptian singers and dancers performed in heavy, shimmering tulle-bi-telli costumes during the late 1800s through the mid-1900s. Elite Egyptian city dwellers also wore it. Similar ones were sold at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and to tourists in Egypt, a possible origin for this example. In the US, tulle-bi-telli scarves were made into home decor and 1920s flapper-style clothing.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
147672
label
Scarf
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
147672
contentType
object
title
Scarf
description
Egyptians may have innovated <em>tulle-bi-telli</em> (“net with metal,” also called <em>assiut</em>) after the French introduced machine-made netted fabric (tulle) in the late 1800s. It drew from <em>telli,</em> an earlier metal embroidery technique. Diamond and rectangle designs formed by knotting flattened silver wire into black tulle indicate this scarf’s early age in the genre. Urban Egyptian singers and dancers performed in heavy, shimmering tulle-bi-telli costumes during the late 1800s through the mid-1900s. Elite Egyptian city dwellers also wore it. Similar ones were sold at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and to tourists in Egypt, a possible origin for this example. In the US, tulle-bi-telli scarves were made into home decor and 1920s flapper-style clothing.
date
early 1900s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79927111
genreSpecific
Garment
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 221 x 82.2 cm (87 x 32 3/8 in.)
cul
Africa, North Africa, Egypt, Assiut, Egyptian maker
accession
1974.1058
Source extras
tec
Probably cotton and silver-plated copper foil
tombstone
Scarf, early 1900s. Africa, North Africa, Egypt, Assiut, Egyptian maker. Probably cotton and silver-plated copper foil; overall: 221 x 82.2 cm (87 x 32 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Edward N. Dekker, Sr., 1974.1058
collection
Textiles
didYouKnow
There is so much metal in this shawl that it weighs nearly 4.5 pounds.
citations
citation
Gillow, John. African Textiles: Colour and Creativity Across a Continent. London: Thames & Hudson, 2003.
page_number
152-53
creditline
Gift of Mrs. Edward N. Dekker, Sr.
updatedAt
2026-05-29 07:34:35.673000
sourceId
147672
dept
Textiles
coll
Textiles
med
Probably cotton and silver-plated copper foil
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
4d66318263b1c681