Assuit Shawl

The shawl was made in Egypt in the early 20th century . This type of textile is known as Assuit by English-speakers after the Egyptian town, Asyut, where it originated. It is known as tulle bi telli or al tally in Egypt. Americans were introduced to this type of textile at the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893. Western demand for it peaked around the 1920s, when there was a craze for all things Egyptian in the United States and Europe, thanks to the profusion of archaeological digs in Egypt.

Assuit is made out of black or white cotton tulle decorated with a flat metal alloy or a commercially produced steel. The motifs are typically culled from christian farming influences using stylized, floral, bird and human figures.