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These 12 watercolors by Ali Zhang appeared on "Arabian Faces", a calendar for remembering birthdays, anniversaries, and other special days that was produced in Saudi Arabia. The calendar is presented entirely in English. These watercolors also appear individually on greeting cards sold there.
I asked some people who have actually lived in Saudi Arabia for some time to comment on whether these paintings accurately reflect what women actually wear there. The feedback was that the clothing is representative of what the rural women in the Bedouin tribes and villages might wear. However, the eyes are rather stylized--the women in these tribes wouldn't actually wear this type of eye makeup, especially for anyone outside the men in their families. The postures and attitudes also more closely resemble an artist's vision than they do the behavior of real-life Arabian women.
However, in cities like Riyadh the urban women would not wear clothing like this when seen outside their homes. Instead, they would wear solid black, plain, opaque clothing that covers everything except their eyes.
Kay Campbell commented, "Although I couldn't identify a specific tribe from which they might come, the black and silver masks are very close if not identical to the traditional clothing rural bedouin and village women sometimes still wear today. The other ones, like the one with the veil of gold, and the woman praying in the green headdress, I haven't seen myself worn by women. That doesn't mean they aren't regionally authentic, but they might be an artist's fantasy of historic Arabian women. Just so you know, rarely would those headdresses be seen in the city unless worn by a Bedouin lady just visiting."
If you're examining these pictures with an eye to copying the clothing for use as an Oriental dance costume, please be aware that you would never see a dancer performing in something like this in the Middle East! In Saudi Arabia, where these paintings originated, there is absolutely no public performance by women at all. In private indoor settings, where only women are present, the women may do social dance, but they're not likely to wear their veils while doing so. In countries like Egypt and Lebanon which do still have public Oriental dance shows, the performers would never wear anything like this as part of their costumes.
If you have a particular artistic vision to create a unique dance presentation in which you want the costuming to have this look, then go ahead and follow your muse. Just realize that what you'll be doing is your own theatrical creation and not an accurate portrayal of what someone might realistically see in the Middle East. Please don't present it as "authentic" to your audiences.
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