The Saudi Pavilion celebrates authentic craftsmanship

"Bisht" sparkles with gold threads at "Expo Dubai"

• Making bashout requires high skill and precision in embroidery.

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The pavilion of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, at Expo 2020 Dubai, shed light on the traditional clothing of Saudi Arabia in general, and the art of weaving and embroidery of "bisht" in particular, and the social symbolism it represents within the Kingdom and the Arab Gulf region as a whole.

The pavilion in the Palm Garden allocated a space in which to celebrate, while displaying a variety of "bashout" embroidered with various silk threads, yellow, silver and brown "golden zari", and others.

The bashout industry is an ancient traditional craft, and represents a prominent aesthetic image, due to its delicate manual techniques that have witnessed remarkable developments and various innovations over time, and its borders have expanded to include some women's and men's bags, inspired by the famous arts of this weaving.

antiquity

The Saudi bisht maker, Salman al-Hamad, who inherited its arts from his father to spend about four decades in it, confirmed that the craft of weaving the bisht (a men’s robe of cloth worn over the kandora), appeared in the past in Al-Ahsa Governorate, which is almost unique in its arts and techniques at the level of the Kingdom as a whole. , explaining that "the labels differ from one region to another, while some call it "bisht", others call it "mashleh"," noting that this handicraft requires high skill and accuracy in embroidery, and aesthetic touches in the details, which are reflected in the designs of Al-Zari. Which adorns the ends of the bisht.

According to Al-Hamad, each “bisht” has a special name related to the raw materials used in it. For example, there is a “Japanese summer” bisht, a “Marina Deluxe” bisht, which is a winter bisht characterized by a medium-thick fabric, and a “heavy animal” bisht, which is used in winter times. The “Najafi” bisht is intended for the summer period, and the “Badrani” bisht, “al-Tin”, “Al-Sudunieh” and “al-Kilani” and “Bahban” bishts, and others.

Phase

Salman al-Hamad says: “The process of completing a single bisht takes between 12 and 15 days or more, depending on the type of embroidery required and the raw materials used, which makes it somewhat complicated and requires knowledge and experience.”

He explained that “the manufacture of a single bisht requires eight craftsmen, each of whom undertakes the completion of one of the different stages of the zari, including the crushed, the installation, the easy, the collar and the bourouj,” adding that “the bisht industry goes through seven stages, each of which is a stand-alone specialty, then comes a stage Assembly, which is the last stage after which the besht is ready for sale.

Skill

Al-Hamad confirmed that the prices of the bisht ranged between 3000 and 6000 Saudi riyals, depending on the quality of the materials used and the skill needed by the craftsman in weaving them using the golden zari imported from Germany, France or India, explaining that “the bisht has one design, in which only (the beats) change (i.e. the design). ) for Al-Zari, which is determined based on the customer’s desire and options”, pointing out that the demand for beshouts and traditional clothes continues throughout the year, and the demand for them increases during holidays and weddings.

• The manufacture of a single bisht takes between 12 and 15 days or more, depending on the type of embroidery and fabric materials.

• The Bisht has one design, in which only the “daqat” (that is, the design) of the buttons changes.

• The Kingdom Pavilion dedicated a space in the palm garden to celebrate local fashion.

 8 craftsmen make a single besht.

To watch the video,

designs and colors

The Saudi bisht maker, Salman al-Hamad, says: “The colors of zari (threads) are many, and their number reaches more than 100 colors, while their quality is distributed among the German zari, which is considered the best, followed by the French, then the Indian, and others,” explaining that “(Al-Hasawi bisht). It is divided into different types, and the most sought after is (Al-Maliki), which is characterized by its own zari design, and after it comes (Bisht Al-Mandiliya), then (Bricks), (Al-Mabroum), (Al-Saf) and (Al-Mottasas), which differ from Some of them are in types and colors of fabrics, but the official ones are limited to black, burnt, white, and blond.”