Talli and Tombolo
Just a coincidence?
Bedouin women working on Talli
Credits @ Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council
For quite some time I have been planning to write down this article that was inspired by some news from a while ago.
In Mirabella Imbaccari, a small town in the province of Catania, a mural was commissioned to a Polish artist, Nespoon, who is renowned worldwide for her works that reinterpret typical artisanal crafts through a contemporary style. On the facade of a building in the Sicilian town, crafted a large mural which represents the traditional bobbin lace that women of the village have been making for centuries, passing down the tradition from mother to daughter.
Tombolo is the name of a technique of a particular type of bobbin lace. A special frame can support it, or it can be placed on a basket or anything else that keeps it stable at hand height. Both the lace produced with this technique and the cylindrical cushion used to support the work are called Tombolo. The lace is made with cotton, linen, silk, wool or synthetic fibres.
Known since the 15th century, it’s still considered one of the most beautiful and complex textile techniques in the world. It can be also found in Slovenia, Croatia, and Estonia, but it originated and became widely popular throughout Italia, from the North to the South of the country (Burano, Cogne, Gorizia, Predoi, Portofino, Cantú, L'Aquila, Isernia, Mirabella, Offidia, Pescocostanzo, Pozzuoli, Scanno, Rapallo, Pitelli, Tavenna), and from Italy to the Habsburg Empire and Vienna.
The place of origin is still unclear, although it is often attributed to Molise. It is said that Spanish nuns from the Benedictine monastery of Santa Maria delle Monache spread this beautiful art among their students, which is why this technique was initially used to make altar cloths or sacred garments.
Twenty-seven Italian municipalities have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to support the candidacy of Italian lace as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The term Tombolo might derive from the Latin Tumulus, meaning a small mound, a hillock created by a tomb or catacomb, clearly recalling the shape of the cushion on which the artisan's hands rest as they make the lace.
Now, let me tell you about Talli, also known as Alseen; it is an artisanal practice typical of the United Arab Emirates, inscribed in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List (since 2022). Etymologically, the word Talli comes from Turkish and means shiny, bright thread; it is usually created with a combination of six cotton threads separated by a silver thread in the center. These are skillfully woven into colorful patterns with symbolic meanings related to life in the desert and the sea, to create a trimming that is sewn onto the edges of women's garments, especially used for weddings or important religious festivals.
The cushion, called mousadah, is used as a support to create the weaving. Depending on the complexity of the pattern, a woman working on a single piece of Talli will use between 8 and 50 dahary (bobbins) to hold the equivalent number of threads she is working with. Each cushion is attached to a metal stand called kajoujah and it’s positioned in front of the artisan.
Traditionally, real silver or gold thread was used for the braids of the Talli to create the focal point of these intricate designs, combined with pure cotton threads of various colors running along the edges of the piece. Today, they have been replaced by synthetic fabrics. Besides silver, the most popular colors for Emirati Talli are black, green, red, and white.
Talli is a time-consuming craft, passed down informally from mothers to daughters, as well as formally through courses and workshops held in schools, universities, and heritage centers. The practice is also promoted during cultural events, festivals, and competitions. The gathering of women to weave Talli, in homes and residential neighborhoods, plays an important role, as it offers an opportunity for social interaction and exchange of knowledge about the craft. These gatherings are also cultural forums for sharing folk tales, proverbs, and other verbal forms of the country's intangible cultural heritage.
And now we are reaching the conclusion of this article. I am not the only one who sees a strong analogy between these two techniques. Every time I have encountered the Talli cushion in museums, especially in Al Shindagha, my clients' reactions have always been the same: Wow it looks just like Tombolo!
Everyone, both Northern and Southern Italians, recognized in Talli the form of Tombolo, and the famous Italian lace in the golden thread decorations made to adorn the Bedouin women's garments.
I have no idea how these two traditions can be so similar, I tried to do some research but couldn't find any answers. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know and write to me!
Artwork by Nespoon
Mirabella Imbaccari (CT)
Tombolo
Talli
Women working on Tombolo
Credits @ Portofinoamp.it