"It is a garment that (Sir Sidney) Cockerell bought from an Arab when he and Wilfred Blunt (I think) were wrecked off Sinai sometime in the 1880s. He paid a sovereign for it - to protect himself against the sun. Later he gave it to T.E. (Lawrence) as a dressing gown, and eventually T.E. left it to G.B.S. (George Bernard Shaw), who also used it as a dressing gown. It was finally sent back to Cockerell who gave it to me." A letter to The National Trust from the donor, Sir Alec Guiness.
Made in Arabia, probably in the early twentieth century, it is made of two widths of woven goat's hair, in brown and cream, with simple embroidery. Condition found: extremely dirty. Mouldy. Some rust stains. Holes, tears and a number of old repairs, darns and cobbles. Fabric is very stiff. Some repairs seem to be contemporary. By a process of elimination these appear to be the ones carried out in orange/brown wool, and these were left intact.
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Client : The National Trust
