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KHIL{A 2 (2006), pp. 137-148. doi: 10.2143/KH.2.0.2021289

The journey of one Saudi Arabian man’s costume from Dhahran to Leiden

Helen SEIDLER, Bethesda, USA Gillian VOGELSANG-EASTWOOD, Textile Research Centre, Leiden

In early 1949 Alonzo (“Al”) LePage Seidler, my He went to Arabia six months ahead of my father, accepted a position with the Arabian mother, my brother (7 years old) and me (3 years American Oil Company in Dhahran, . old). We followed travelling by ship from New York He was the first dentist to join the medical team to Beirut (a 13 day voyage) and then flying across Aramco was assembling to serve the small, but the to Dhahran, in the Eastern growing community of Americans and other for- Province on the edge of the Persian Gulf. The story eigners moving to the country to work on the of the costume is told primarily from memory of exploration, refining and shipping of oil. As a result, family conversations around the dinner table about he was also the first Western-trained dentist in the our rich experience from 1949 to 1961 living in country. Saudi Arabia. My father was from Baltimore, Maryland (USA) At that time Aramco was a consortium of four where he was born, raised and educated (Johns U.S. oil companies – Standard Oil of California Hopkins University, 1931; University of Maryland (now Chevron), Texas Oil Company (now Texaco), Dental School, 1937). He married Virginia Standard Oil of New Jersey (now Exxon), and Niedentohl, also a Baltimore native, in 1936, and Socony-Vacuum Oil (now Mobil). The agreement served with the 101st Evacuation Hospital of the with the Saudi royal family of Ibn Saud was that U.S. Army in France and Germany during World Saudi citizens would join the company early on and War II. His wartime experience ignited an interest over time it would become Saudi Aramco, a wholly in cultures and countries around the world that owned Saudi company, which it is today. Dhahran stayed with him the rest of his life. And it also pre- and its neighbouring Aramco towns of Abqaiq and disposed him to the idea of working in Saudi Ras Tanura were almost entirely ex-patriate commu- Arabia, a suggestion made by one of his college nities in the early 1950s, although as began friends. moving up in the company, they too began living in these towns. In Dhahran my father’s dental offices were pro- vided with the most modern equipment of the day, and he had dental assistants who were initially Indian and then Saudi (fig. 1). He learned basic , although never to the level of fluency achieved by the geologists working in the field side by side with their Arab counterparts. In those early years of Aramco’s work, the for- eign community was small and exposure to the Saudi royals not uncommon. The first king and founder of the country, Abdulaziz Al-Saud, once visited Dhahran and gave out individual tins of hard candies to all the school children that had assembled on a hill to greet him. We children were more impressed by his retinue than the candy Fig. 1. Dr A. LePage Seidler at work, Dhahran, early itself, but the gesture was most appreciated. The 1950s (photograph by courtesy of H. Seidler) families – including my family – who took up

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horses as a hobby once put on a gymkhana fabric, brass coffee pots and trays, and handsome attended by one of the crown princes. In honour wooden chests from all over the Middle East and of the prince, we were decked out in the colours India. of the Saudi flag with green saddle blankets, white In its negotiations with Aramco over the arrange- outfits and cowboy hats, and green and white rib- ments for its employees and their families, the royal bons in the manes and tails of our beautiful family requested that it have access to Aramco’s Arabian horses. medical personnel in the country, including the The Saudis were eager to introduce the artefacts dentist. So from time to time, my father would be of their culture to the foreigners now living in their asked to examine and treat someone from the fam- land, if not exactly in their midst. Gifts were often ily who was having a dental problem. This almost exchanged, and salesmen laden with pearls and always involved travelling to Riyadh or as far as gold would come to Dhahran, always ready to Jeddah on the Red Sea as the royal family did not make a bargain. But Arab women and children come into the Aramco communities for this pur- were nowhere to be seen, and aside from the Saudi pose. He reported that he treated women as well as employees of Aramco, most contact with Saudis men, and that when he was treating women he was took place in the near-by market of al-Khobar never alone in the room with them. In fact Aramco where Saudi and Indian vendors vied for the atten- always sent a senior manager to accompany him on tion of the Aramco spouses on their shopping these trips in case any company business would trips. They would return home with jewellery, happen to arise.

Fig. 2a-c. Dr. LePage Seidler wearing various combinations of a Saudi khil{a. Fig. 2a (left). Dr. LePage Seidler wearing a white cap (TRC 2005.335d) with a white, summer (current whereabouts unknown). Fig. 2b (middle). The brown winter thawb (TRC 2005.335a) with the matching jacket (TRC 2005.335b) and a white (summer) headcloth (ghoutra, TRC 2005.335i) with gold (2005.335f). Fig. 2c (right). The brown winter thawb and jacket, worn with the heavy camel hair , and a red-white, winter headcloth (ghoutra, TRC 2006.058c) and black agal (2006.058d).

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It was in appreciation of his dental work for a tumes in the exhibition, and they admired this out- member of the royal family that he received the fit, and indeed all the costumes, for their intricate beautiful Arab man’s winter costume that is pictured embroidery and rich fabric (finely hand-woven in this article and now housed at the Textile camel’s hair in the case of my father’s bisht). Research Centre in Leiden (fig. 2a-c). My father was The costume passed down to me when first my very pleased to have been given such a special gift, father died (1995) and then my mother (2000). truly an example of a Saudi khil{a. He understood Periodically I go through the papers and artefacts that it was a great honour to receive a costume, and of their full and interesting lives, and in 2005 such a beautiful one at that. He proudly showed it I decided to find a proper home for the costume to anyone who cared to see it and on occasion mod- where it could be appreciated and seen, if possible. elled it for family and friends. Later on, once we Using the internet, I searched for collections or had returned to live in the United States, he showed museums that seemed appropriate and the Textile it to various community groups when from time to Research Centre emerged as a clear first choice. Its time he gave talks on Saudi Arabia and the Aramco specialty in Middle Eastern costumes, its study of experience. the cultural context of clothing and its existing col- By the time our family left Saudi Arabia to lection were all strong factors in its favour. After return to the United States in 1961, many changes contacting Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood by e-mail had occurred since the early days of the 1950s. and determining her provisional interest, I then There was a whole team of dentists serving the sig- took the costume back to the Textile Museum to a nificantly larger ex-patriate community, and my curator who gave me a full description of what father had specialized in orthodontia. The study of I had. At that point I was prepared to make the Arabic language was introduced into the curriculum donation and was very pleased to do so in time for of the Aramco schools, and Arab and American stu- the 2006 exhibition of Saudi dress (Flowing Robes) dents had opportunities to meet and get to know at the National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden, one another. And the small-town feel of the rela- which was curatored by the TRC. I am very privi- tionships between Aramco and the royal family had leged to be part of the story and journey of this cos- transformed into the business-to-business relation- tume, and I am grateful that it is now in its proper ship that led to the development of Saudi Aramco. home. In April and May of 1986 the Textile Museum in Washington, D.C. mounted a small exhibition called “Traditional Costumes of Saudi Arabia” with THE DENTIST’S OUTFIT: 23 costumes from all over Saudi Arabia. At that AN EXAMPLE OF A SAUDI KHIL{A time the director of the Textile Museum was Patricia Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, TRC Fiske, who also happened to be my mother’s god- daughter and who knew the story of the costume In May 2006 the Textile Research Centre, Leiden given to my father. Her parents and my parents had (TRC) was approached by Helen Seidler, Bethesda, been best of friends since they were children in MD, USA, who kindly offered us a unique outfit, Baltimore, and the families stayed in very close namely, the Saudi Arabian garments given to her touch during the Arabia years as well. This exqui- father, Dr. A. LePage Seidler, while he was working site exhibit of Saudi Arabian costumes and its pop- in the country in the early 1950s. The TRC’s inter- ularity then inspired a larger show sponsored by the est in the outfit is three fold. Firstly, we are actively U.S. Committee for Saudi Arabian Cultural building up a collection of Saudi Arabian garments, Heritage whose Honorary Chair was Princess Haifa following the purchase of the Josephine Kane bint Faisal. Entitled “Palms and Pomegranates: Collection of Middle Eastern Dress by the TRC in Traditional Dress of Saudi Arabia” and curatored by 2005.1 Secondly, we were preparing an exhibition Patricia Fiske, this exhibition travelled for seven months during 1986 and 1987 to cities throughout the United States. It included my father’s costume 1 as one example of male dress (winter outfit, includ- We should like to thank the Barbas-van der Klaauw Fonds, which comes under the auspices of the Prins Bernhard ing the bisht; catalogue no. 25). Viewers were fas- Cultuurfonds, Amsterdam, for helping us acquire this col- cinated by the colourfulness and diversity of cos- lection.

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about Saudi Arabian urban and regional clothing bination is rapidly being superseded by Western for the National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden fashions, notably tighter trousers and shirts or t- (RMV), which was based on the Kane collection. shirts, but there is considerable resistance to this The name of the exhibition was Flowing Robes: process as such garments are not as effective in Saudi Arabian Dress (October 2006-January 2007). keeping the wearer cool, nor are they regarded as The presence of a man’s outfit from Mecca dating Islamic. to the late nineteenth century in the RMV’s collec- tion plus the kind donation of the ‘dentist’s outfit’, The Seidler collection caused us to re-think the nature of the exhibition and to increase its size and depth by including men’s In addition to the garments noted above, Mrs. as well as women’s clothing. In doing so we were in Seidler gave us various other Saudi Arabian gar- a position to give a more complete image of this ments that had belonged to her father, namely, two aspect of Saudi Arabian culture. summer headcloths, two headropes, a cap, and a The LePage Seidler outfit also has a third layer pair of sandals. There was also a Saudi Arabian flag. of meaning for the TRC. As one of the founders of All of these items, the outfit and the extra pieces, this journal, Khil{a, we are constantly looking for will now be described. ancient and modern examples of the giving of cloth- The winter thawb4 (TRC 2005.335a) is a long, ing, especially outfits, in a ceremonial manner to ankle length gown in a machine woven worsted honour a person or event, namely, a khil{a. The cloth in a combination of brown and grey yarns story of the American dentist in Saudi Arabia (fig. 3a). The gown is cut in the classic Arab form receiving an outfit fits this description of a khil{a with a central panel with attached side panels and very well. To have a complete outfit, plus details of under arm gussets to give it more width. This gar- when the outfit was given and photographs of the ment also has a mandarin style collar.5 It is notice- recipient wearing the outfit is an unusual set of cir- able, however, that the garment is narrower at the cumstances to say the least. waist and with a fuller skirt section than in the The outfit consists of the following items: a win- modern examples. In addition, nowadays there is ter gown (thawb) and matching jacket (damir), a usually a small pocket on the upper left hand side winter cloak (bisht), a white cap (taqiyya), a red and of the garment, which is not present on the Seidler white headcloth (ghoutra), and a headrope (aqal).2 garment. It is not clear whether these differences The combination of under trousers/loincloth, gown, reflect the source of the garment (the royal house- jacket, cloak and headcovering of some kind can be hold), the age of the Seidler garment (1950s) and traced back to the medieval period and earlier in the changes in fashion over the years, or indeed some Arabian lands.3 Indeed, with the spread of other factor. from the seventh century onwards, it became the The knee-length winter jacket (damir; TRC standard wear for both men and women (in differ- 2005.335b) is made from the same material as the ent forms and variations), from Morocco to . winter thawb just described (fig. 3b). It is double With respect to men’s clothing, however, this com- breasted with a Western style jacket collar. The sleeves are relatively wide. The jacket is lined with a grey twill material. It is worth noting that the jacket appears never to have been used, as there are 2 The terminology used to describe the following garments is based on Topham 1981. White cotton under trousers (sir- still sewing threads fastening the top openings of waal) would also have been worn with this type of outfit, the pockets. The use of such jackets is no longer but these do not appear to have been given to Dr. Seidler. fashionable and nowadays they only tend to be 3 Stillman 2000:29ff. worn by older men. 4 Sometimes also called a jubba. 6 5 The older style have no collar at all. In the early 20th The bisht (TRC 2005.335c) is a cloak like gar- century the mandarin collar was introduced. By the 1950s ment worn over the thawb and jacket (fig. 4a). The this style was being challenged by Western style shirt col- Seidler example is a heavy, winter version made lars. Modern thawbs can be purchased with either the man- from two lengths of camel hair cloth. These lengths darin or shirt style collar. 6 Also called a mishla. In the region it is called an aba are hand woven (cloth width of 73 cm). The two or abayeh. pieces have been roughly sewn together using a 7 This yarn is now disintegrating and needs to be replaced. wool yarn.7 The two pieces are of different lengths

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Fig. 3a (left). The winter thawb (TRC 2005.335a) Fig. 3b (right). The winter jacket (TRC 2005.335b)

giving a slightly shaped appearance to the garment Arabia), by the then Prince Faisal. It dates to about (fig. 4b). The neck opening and part of the front 1916.12 It is made from purple and white silk and opening are decorated with gold embroidery, using decorated with geometric designs in gold and silver a variety of stitches, including a blanket, stem, satin woven into the back panel of the garment. and an edging herringbone stitch.8 The embroidery Nowadays, urban summer versions of the bisht is finished with a fine cord in gold thread that ends tend to be made out of black, brown or white cot- in two gold tassels gold cords. ton, while winter versions are made out of sheep’s There is a marked difference between the bishts wool or synthetic cloth and very occasionally camel made in Arabia by nomadic and semi-nomadic hair. However, more and more bishts are being groups and those imported into the country, espe- made in the Far East, especially China, for the Arab cially from . The former bishts tend to be made market, rather than being locally produced or out of heavy wool or camel hair. The best quality imported from Syria. The Asian versions are much bishts are made of the hair from a young camel. And cheaper than locally produced ones, and as a result depending on where they come from, these gar- it is becoming harder and harder to find the latter. ments show different amounts of hand embroidery. In particular, camel hair bishts have become rare and They are normally worn by Bedouins during the expensive. cold winter months in the western mountains or in The next element in the Seidler outfit is the the deserts. Those from the Hijaz and Asir regions, headgear. Normally, the headgear associated with for example, tend to be very heavy (and warm) and a Saudi Arabian man consists of three parts, namely decorated with red and orange embroidery.9 They are locally called bidi. In contrast, urban summer versions of the bisht tend to be made out of black 8 or brown cotton or occasionally silk. Many of these The metal thread is made from a fine gold lamella wrapped tightly around a yellow silk core. were imported from Syria. This style of bisht nor- 9 An example of a long bidi and a short one are now housed mally has a minimum amount of decoration, which in the TRC’s collection (TRC 2005.149 and TRC is concentrated around the neck opening and down 2006.041, respectively). 10 the front.10 This style of bisht dates back to the I was told that there is a tradition that the amount of dec- oration around the neck of a bisht should not be more than 11 nineteenth century and probably much earlier. two (male) fingers wide. I have not been able to confirm More elaborate bishts in silk, which were deco- this detail, but most bishts I have seen have a neck opening rated with woven designs in gold and silver thread, decoration that is two or less finger’s wide. 11 were also imported from Syria. Such a bisht can be See for example a Syrian black bisht that dates from 1857 (Kalter, Pavaloi and Zerrnickel 1992:149, fig. 358). seen in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. It was 12 The Lawrence garments are the subject of a forthcoming given to the legendary T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of article by G. Vogelsang-Eastwood.

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a cap, a headcloth and a headrope.13 The Seidler outfit is no exception. The cap (taqiyya or ‘araqiyya; TRC 2006.058d) is in an off-white syn- thetic material lined with white cotton (fig. 5). It has an 8 cm wide band and a 15.5 cm diameter crown. It is decorated with a simple, machine embroidered design using white silk yarn and metal thread (silver lamella wrapped around a yellow silk core). The band of the cap is decorated with a sim- ple design of a trellis work of enclosing isolated dots. The crown has a large circle divided into four sections each enclosing a floral motif on the crown. The circle is flanked by a machine embroidered border in white silk. The seam between the band Fig. 4a. The winter bisht (TRC 2005.335c) and crown has been decorated with an open her- ringbone stitch in white silk. The other cap in the collection (TRC 2005.335d) is constructed in a very similar manner, but the embroidery is of a slightly poorer quality. Small caps like this can be found throughout the Islamic world and sometimes they are classed as prayer caps. However, the Arabic term taqiyya/ ‘araqiyya refers to sweat, and it is much more likely that its original and present function remains to prevent sweat staining the more expensive headcloth that goes over the cap. Like the other items in the outfit the headcloth (ghoutra; TRC 2006.058c) is of the type used in winter (fig. 6). It is made from a heavy cotton with a woven design of red and white checks.14 Fig. 4b. Diagram showing the basic elements of This style of ghoutra is known as a shmagh, while the Seidler bisht (TRC 2005.335c; drawing by in the eastern Mediterranean region it is often Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood) called a kaffiya. Although it was originally worn by farmers, nowadays, however, it is often associ- ated with the Palestinian cause, Arab brotherhood 13 The wearing of some kind of headband in order to keep the headcloth in place is a very old tradition in the Arabian Peninsula. There are references, for example, to the Prophet Mohammed in the seventh century AD wearing headbands in order to keep various types of cloth in place on his head (Stillman 2000:16). 14 As with many of the garments described in this article there are winter and summer versions to the red and white checked goutra. The example from the Seidler collection is made from a heavy cotton and clearly for the winter time. The most expensive examples of this style of headgear are made from woven silk, while the cheapest have a printed design on thin cotton. Originally this design was in red/white or black/white, but more and more variations in colour are being produced (Ross 1994:39). During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries many of these cloths were manufactured in Europe (especially England), for the Arab market. Nowadays most are made in Japan, although the Chinese versions are becoming more widely Fig. 5. One of a pair of caps decorated with silver metal available. yarn (now tarnished to a black colour; TRC 2005.335i)

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and solidarity. It should be added, however, that this style of headgear did not have this political resonance in the 1950s when the outfit was given to Dr. Seidler. There are also two white head coverings. Both of these head coverings are of the type normally worn during the hot, summer months. The first (TRC 2005.335i) is a large square of fine white cot- ton material, which is 129 ≈ 129 cm in size. The cloth is decorated with a machine embroidered design of alternating rows of flowers and X shapes in white silk (fig. 7). The two transverse edges of the cloth are decorated with small attached tassels in the same colour as the ground cloth. The other two edges are selvedges. The second example (TRC 2006.058b) is also made out of a fine white cotton material (136 ≈ 130 cm in size) and decorated with a tambour work (chain stitch) floral design with buteh’s in the four corners (fig. 8). This is worked in white silk. Fig. 6. Close-up of the winter ghoutra given to Until comparatively recently, Saudi Arabian men Dr. LePage Seidler (TRC 2006.058c) wore a much wider range of headcloths than are now being worn. Elaborately woven silks from Syria

Fig. 7. Close-up of a summer ghoutra worn by Dr. LePage Seidler (TRC 2005.335i)

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Fig. 8. Close-up of a summer ghoutra worn by Dr. LePage Seidler (TRC 2006.058b)

or embroidered cloths from Persia and India were frequently worn. Nowadays, however, most men either wear white (especially in the summer) or the ubiquitous red and white checked forms. As noted earlier, the third element in the head- gear is the headrope (aqal). The example from the Seidler outfit (TRC 2006.058d) is made from a heavy cord of black dyed wool wrapped around a blue wool core (this looks as if it has been felted, but that is not certain; fig. 9). The ends have been neatly finished with ornamental knobs, which have been fastened together. The cord has been twisted into two rings that are bound together with a black cord ending in a simple tassel. This style of head- rope is said to derive from the hobbles used to secure camels. Fig. 9. A simple form of aqal (TRC 2006.058d)

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Fig. 10a (above left). An example of an aqal gassab in white floss silk wrapped with gold thread from the Seidler collection (TRC 2005.335f). Fig. 10b (above right). An example of an aqal gassab in black floss silk wrapped with gold thread from the Seidler collection (TRC 2005.335e). Fig. 10c (below left). Close up of the aqal gassab depicted in Fig. 10b. Fig. 10d (right). King wearing an aqal gassab made from black silk. Similar decorative bands to those in Fig. 10c can be seen in the centre of King Faisal’s aqal.

This type of aqal is the daily or ordinary type. also becoming popular. By the end of the twenti- Nevertheless, it too has undergone various changes eth century the aqal had reached a diameter of over the decades. At the end of the nineteenth and c. 1.5 cm (TRC 2005.188). So even what appears beginning of the twentieth centuries, for example, to be a very simple garment is also subject to the ‘ordinary’ black aqal was quite heavy and large; changes and fashion. it had a band between 4 and 5 cm in width.15 By the mid-twentieth century they had begun to shrink in size, as can be seen by the Seidler exam- 15 See for example, Pavaloi 1992:151, fig. 361, which is a ple described above, which has a band diameter of depiction of Sottam ibn Shaalan (1899), a Syrian Bedouin 2.5 cm. At the same time a thinner version was who is wearing such a heavy aqal.

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In addition to the large, black aqal described above, the Seidler collection also includes two other aqals, in what is now regarded as a more formal, aqal gassab, style (figs. 10a-d). The first example (TRC 2005.335f) is made from white silk floss bound with gold thread (a very fine strip of metal called a lamella wrapped around a silk core; fig. 10a). The second aqal (TRC 2005.335e) is very similar, except that it is made from black rather than white silk floss (fig. 10b). The band sections are fur- ther decorated with a thicker metal thread at regu- lar intervals (fig. 10c). This style of aqal was popu- lar in the first half of the twentieth century, Fig. 11a. A pair of hand made leather sandals with especially with members of the Saudi royal family. decorative tops and big toe loop (TRC 2005.335g, i-ii) The aqals worn by the senior members of the Saudi royal family were often made of black silk bound with gold wire, as can be seen in the portrait of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia given in Figure 10c. Over the following decades this form of aqal went out of popular fashion and nowadays it is generally associated with the Saudi court. In addition to the items of clothing mentioned above, the Seidler collection also includes a pair of hand made sandals (TRC 2005.335g) of the classic na‘l style (figs. 11a-b). This style of sandal has been made for at least 150 years in Arabia and is proba- bly considerably much older.16 The sandals from the Seidler collection have been made from various lay- ers of leather (probably camel) sewn together with large stitching around the outer edge. A slightly raised heel has been created by inserting an extra Fig. 11b. Close-up of the decorative panel from layer of leather at the heel. The sandals are deco- the leather sandals depicted in Fig. 11a rated with metal thread (strips of copper) and green dyed leather hand-embroidery in a simple geomet- ric design. Modern versions of this type of sandal are usually imported from India and made from cow hide. These are not of the same quality as the Seidler examples. Finally, there is a Saudi Arabian flag (TRC 2005.335h; fig. 12). This has a green ground with a white inscription in Arabic, which is the shahada or creed: ilaha ila illahu muhammadu rasulu llahi: “There is no God but Allah; Mohammed is the Messenger of Allah”. Underneath the shahada is a pair of crossed swords.

16 A pair of na‘l sandals from Mecca dating to 1884 are housed in the National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden, Fig. 12. A Saudi Arabian flag from the 1950s accession number: RMV 543-7. (TRC 2005.335h)

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The green flag with the shahada has been con- (Western style collars), summer and winter cloth- nected with the main religious movement in Arabia, ing, social ranking (style of headcovering and aqal), the Wahhabi, since the eighteenth century.17 This as well as the influences of religion, economics, group is closely related to the rise of the Al-Saud fam- technical changes (hand and machine woven), and ily, so it comes as no surprise that they adopted the indeed fashion. When looking at the outfit, for green flag as their emblem. A sword was added to example, it becomes apparent that Saudi Arabian the flag in 1902, when Abdulaziz ibn Abdulrahman clothing for men is not static. Subtle changes have Al-Saud (1880-1953) became King of the Nejd. taken place over the decades, such as the reduction Until 1973 variants with two swords or a white ver- in size of the aqal, the current preference for the tical stripe were also used. After 1973 the official simpler, black form of aqal as opposed to the more Saudi Arabian flag became green with the shahada elaborate aqal gassab. Similarly, as the twentieth cen- and a single sword. The appearance of the Seidler tury has progressed the garments worn by men have example with a pair of crossed swords is consistent become more conservative, less decorated and cer- with the Saudi flag in the 1950s. tainly less colourful, at least those worn in public. These changes have led to the modern image of In conclusion Saudi Arabian men as being dressed in white with touches of black, something that many of their The opportunity to study a group of textiles or gar- compatriots in the nineteenth century would not ments with a known provenance and related to one have so easily recognised or indeed would have particular person does not often occur within the accepted as ‘normal.’ museum world. When the added element is pres- ent of the garments representing an example of BIBLIOGRAPHY khil{a or ‘robes of honour’ then they become all the more intriguing. This particular outfit may not be Katler, J., M. Pavaloi and M. Zerrnickel, 1992, The Arts and Crafts of Syria, London. of the elaborate form associated with Central Asia Pavaloi, M., 1992, “Life in the desert,” in: J. Katler, M. Pavaloi and India. However, it does represent the style of and M. Zerrnickel (Eds.), The Arts and Crafts of Syria, garments worn by men of the Saudi royal family at London, pp. 143-57. one particular moment in time, namely the 1950s. Ross, H. Colyer, 1998, The Art of Arabian Costume: A Saudi Arabian Profile, Studio City, California. The dentist’s outfit may also be seen as represent- Stillman, Y. 2000, Arab Dress from the Dawn of Islam to Modern ing a snap shot of men’s dress in Saudi Arabia in Times: A Short History, Leiden. general, with its long historical development that Topman, J. 1981, Traditional Crafts of Saudi Arabia, London. can be traced back hundreds of years. While working on the Seidler outfit there was a constant reminder of the various links between traditional costume (no collar) and modern fashions 17 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Saudi_Arabia

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