Tulle bi telli

Tulle-bi-telli, also known as Assuit after Assuit where it is made, is a textile marrying cotton or linen mesh with small strips of metal, with its origins dating back to Ancient Egypt. Other spellings include assuite, asyut, assyut, asyute, and azute. The name translates roughly as "net with metal".

Properties

Assuit has great lateral elasticity, thanks to its openwork mesh, which closely resembles a double torchon. It is heavy, and retains heat, but is favoured for its ability to drape.

Production

Thin strips of metal, such as copper wire, silver, pot metal, brass, chrome-plated base metals, or even 14-carat gold, are threaded onto a flat, wide needle with a flat, wide eye. Each strip is approximately 1/8" wide and 18" to 24" long. The strips are threaded into the mesh, criss-crossed, flattened with the fingernails, and cut. The fabric is then stamped down, and when the designs are finished, the fabric is passed through a roller to flatten the metal even more.

History

Textiles similar in concept to assuit date back to ancient times. Metal thread embroidery was used extensively throughout the Middle East, Asia, and parts of Europe. References are made to its use with Egyptian linen in the Bible. Also, 3,000‑year‑old specimens of netting made with flax are preserved in the Museum of Montbijou, Berlin. The hand-made net is of intricate design; each net composed of some 365 individual fibers. The dye techniques used were equally sophisticated; metallic salts to improve the fastness of dyes has been found in textiles in tombs dating from before 1500 BC. These early embroideries were done with the application of precious metals, especially gold. The pure metal was beaten into thin plates, divided into small slips which were rounded by a hammer, and then filed to form wire. Few remains of ancient wire work have been found. This net would certainly have qualified as "transparent", as shown on the tomb pictures.