Egyptian costume in the 19th century

khanjar · 07-01-2008, 04:09 AM

I was researching one of my other interests that of the Mamluk when I found an interesting passage from a book written in 1860, describing the clothing worn by the then modern Egyptian male. What took particular interest was the description of a girdle being worn around the waist, that of a coloured shawl. The wonder then was could this be the shawl that dancers wear around the waist, the one that made me feel kind of odd when first wearing ?

''........The dress of the men of the middle and higher classes consists of the following articles. First, a pair of drawers of linen or cotton... Next is worn a shirt with very full sleeves reaching to the wrist... Over this in winter or cool weather most persons wear a "sudeyree" which is a short vest of cloth... without sleeves. Over the shirt and "sudeyree" is worn a long vest of striped silk and cotton (called "kaftan" or more commonly "kuftan") descending to the ankles, with long sleeves extending a few inches beyond the fingers ends... Round this vest is wound the girdle, which is a coloured shawl... The ordinary outer robe is a long cloth coat of any colour called by the Turks "jubbeh", but by the Egyptians "gibbeh". In cool or cold weather a kind of black woolen cloak called "'abayeh" is commonly worn......''

Anyways, having got the title of the 1860 book written by E.W. Lane, I then happened upon this site ;

Selections from "Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians" 1860

This web page has jpeg images of pages from the 1860 book, the chapters on dress, public dancers and female ornaments and is interesting reading.

I just thought to post it here as I am sure it might be of interest to some of you with costume design.

If it interests, the complete book can be found here;

An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians. Volume 2. [Electronic Edition]

Shanazel · 07-01-2008, 02:56 PM

Khanjar, what a fascinating post! I hope you will forgive me for changing the title of the thread to something that may draw more attention from browsers in the costume section. Thanks for posting! Shanazel, moderator for costumes threads.

Aisha Azar · 07-01-2008, 03:15 PM

Dear Khanjar,
I have the full 1860 edition, though alas, not an original! The nice thing about Lane as opposed to many writers of the time was that he actually seemed to LIKE the Egyptians. Lane has been a staple of the belly dance world for many years as far as costuming for Ghawazi and other folkloric dances.
Thank you for sharing.
If you are interested in historical costuming, another book that might grab your attention:
Arab Dress from the Dawn of Islam to Modern Times, (2000), Yadida Kalfon Stillman
ISBN 90-04-11373-8

Stillman was Professor of History and Near Eastern Languages at University of Oklahoma and a well known expert on Islamic clothing. She died in 1998.
Regards,
A'isha

khanjar · 07-02-2008, 12:23 PM

There is another website I have found which contains a lot of scholarly articles about Egypt and other middle eastern countries from the views of travellers in the past, mostly Victorian era, A big site, but once you have found say Egypt for example then social, clicking on that reveals loads, photographs etchings and bits of writing. There are other references to dancers.

Travelers in the Middle East Archive (TIMEA) Home

I have always liked reading travellers tales from the past, they are so descriptive and I often follow the progress using a map.

Like I mentioned in the original post, I was researching the Mamluk, as costuming for that will come, fortunately it being partly military, it is well documented say from the fifteen century in various forms of art, Mamluk art being wonderful.

No problemsto changing titles btw.

07-01-2008, 04:09 AM	#1 (permalink)
khanjar Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: England Posts: 371	Egyptian costume in the 19th century I was researching one of my other interests that of the Mamluk when I found an interesting passage from a book written in 1860, describing the clothing worn by the then modern Egyptian male. What took particular interest was the description of a girdle being worn around the waist, that of a coloured shawl. The wonder then was could this be the shawl that dancers wear around the waist, the one that made me feel kind of odd when first wearing ? ''........The dress of the men of the middle and higher classes consists of the following articles. First, a pair of drawers of linen or cotton... Next is worn a shirt with very full sleeves reaching to the wrist... Over this in winter or cool weather most persons wear a "sudeyree" which is a short vest of cloth... without sleeves. Over the shirt and "sudeyree" is worn a long vest of striped silk and cotton (called "kaftan" or more commonly "kuftan") descending to the ankles, with long sleeves extending a few inches beyond the fingers ends... Round this vest is wound the girdle, which is a coloured shawl... The ordinary outer robe is a long cloth coat of any colour called by the Turks "jubbeh", but by the Egyptians "gibbeh". In cool or cold weather a kind of black woolen cloak called "'abayeh" is commonly worn......'' Anyways, having got the title of the 1860 book written by E.W. Lane, I then happened upon this site ; Selections from "Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians" 1860 This web page has jpeg images of pages from the 1860 book, the chapters on dress, public dancers and female ornaments and is interesting reading. I just thought to post it here as I am sure it might be of interest to some of you with costume design. If it interests, the complete book can be found here; An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians. Volume 2. [Electronic Edition] __________________ I am a dream to some...and a nightmare to others. Last edited by khanjar; 07-01-2008 at 04:50 AM.

07-01-2008, 03:15 PM	#3 (permalink)
Aisha Azar V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Pacific Northwest USA Posts: 4,176	Lane Dear Khanjar, I have the full 1860 edition, though alas, not an original! The nice thing about Lane as opposed to many writers of the time was that he actually seemed to LIKE the Egyptians. Lane has been a staple of the belly dance world for many years as far as costuming for Ghawazi and other folkloric dances. Thank you for sharing. If you are interested in historical costuming, another book that might grab your attention: Arab Dress from the Dawn of Islam to Modern Times, (2000), Yadida Kalfon Stillman ISBN 90-04-11373-8 Stillman was Professor of History and Near Eastern Languages at University of Oklahoma and a well known expert on Islamic clothing. She died in 1998. Regards, A'isha

07-02-2008, 12:23 PM	#4 (permalink)
khanjar Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: England Posts: 371	There is another website I have found which contains a lot of scholarly articles about Egypt and other middle eastern countries from the views of travellers in the past, mostly Victorian era, A big site, but once you have found say Egypt for example then social, clicking on that reveals loads, photographs etchings and bits of writing. There are other references to dancers. Travelers in the Middle East Archive (TIMEA) Home I have always liked reading travellers tales from the past, they are so descriptive and I often follow the progress using a map. Like I mentioned in the original post, I was researching the Mamluk, as costuming for that will come, fortunately it being partly military, it is well documented say from the fifteen century in various forms of art, Mamluk art being wonderful. No problemsto changing titles btw. __________________ I am a dream to some...and a nightmare to others.

07-01-2008, 02:56 PM	#2 (permalink)
Shanazel Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Rocky Mountains USA Posts: 4,201	Khanjar, what a fascinating post! I hope you will forgive me for changing the title of the thread to something that may draw more attention from browsers in the costume section. Thanks for posting! Shanazel, moderator for costumes threads.