Tulle-bi-telli or Assuit – a textile which marries cotton or linen with small strips of metal. The name translates roughly as "net with metal". It is heavy, and retains heat, but is favoured for its ability to drape. The embroidery is applied by hand. Thin strips of alloy are threaded onto a flat, wide needle with a flat, wide eye. Alloy is used because pure silver would blacken with age and would be impossible to clean, and gold would be too costly. 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. References are made to its use with Egyptian linen in the Bible and there is a 3000 year old example with gold strips in a Berlin Museum. Assuit has been used in Hollywood productions such as the 1934 Cecil B DeMille film Cleopatra. It was draped on Hedy Lamaar in Samson and Delilah in 1949; and the geometric designs were popular with the Art Deco movement, beginning around 1925Metal thread embroidery using silver coloured alloy metal plate on cotton/linen net. Creating geometric patterns and motifs. Velvet ribbon on neckline and hemline and shoulder seams.clothing, art deco, egypt

Tulle-bi-telli or Assuit shawl – a textile which marries cotton or linen with small strips of metal. The name translates roughly as "net with metal". It is heavy, and retains heat, but is favoured for its ability to drape. The embroidery is applied by hand. Thin strips of alloy are threaded onto a flat, wide needle with a flat, wide eye. Alloy is used because pure silver would blacken with age and would be impossible to clean, and gold would be too costly. 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. References are made to its use with Egyptian linen in the Bible and there is a 3000 year old example with gold strips in a Berlin Museum. Assuit has been used in Hollywood productions such as the 1934 Cecil B DeMille film Cleopatra. It was draped on Hedy Lamaar in Samson and Delilah in 1949; and the geometric designs were popular with the Art Deco movement, beginning around 1925Metal thread embroidery using silver coloured alloy metal plate on cream coloured cotton/linen net. Creating geometric patterns and motifs of ladies, camels, birds and tree of Life.

Belonged to the donors grest grest aunties ( there were four who lived together in Brighton, Sutherlands). One of them accompanied Melba on Cello. The program has since been passed down through the family..1 Grey booklet with circle cut out of the centre of the frontcover, an image of Melba printed on the first page is placed underneath the circle. The first page and last page contain advertising, the main pages detail the operas Melba performs in. .2 Cut out newspaper article placed between first two pages entitled 'Melba Leads Off' .1 Printed in Navy blue ink front page 'STORIES / OF THE OPERAS/ MELBA/ OPERA SEASON/ PRICE, SIXPENCE' .2 Inscribed u.r. corner in pencil, then blue ink over the top: 'april / 1927'melba, nellie (dame), peforming arts, opera, otello, la boheme, la traviata, samson and delilah, faust, aida, rigoletto, lucia di lammermoor, carmen, madame butterfly, la tosca