Assignment 1 Research Part 1:

Stage 1 Research

Part 1: Turkish/Ottoman Textiles

There is a wealth of resources about Ottoman/Turkish Textiles. Probably most people associate Turkish textiles with Kilims and rugs, woven textiles however embroidery, lace making and crochet are a big part in daily textile practice. One can see in a regular Turkish household a lot of embroidered and crocheted pieces used daily. Nowadays most of these pieces are reproduced traditional designs, mainly embroidered by machine, however, the love of handmade textiles is still strong and many women practice these techniques regularly as a part of homemaking.

To gain a historic perspective I visited Ethnographic Museum in Ankara Turkey in August 2015. It is a small museum but contains a wide variety of craftsmanship examples from 13^th to 19^th century. There are metalwork, pottery, woodcarving, glasswork, calligraphy, weaving, embroidery, textiles, dressmaking, and examples. Textiles displays have been categorized into ceremonial and daily life displays. Weddings, births, eating, bathing, shaving, coffee making, ....

There are exquisite kaftans/overcoats embroidered with silver and gold tread on velvet and woven silk. Linen, and cotton are used a lot too. Rich and deep colors (blues, purples, burgundy,) used for ceremonial pieces. But the main event is the gold work! It is called “Sim Sırma” in Turkish. The complexity, beauty and wealth of the embroidery on the cloth reflect the importance of the event it is made for!  There are quite a lot of accessories as well: belts, headscarves, hairclips, combs, and jewelry, all worked in intricate detail. The most interesting part was the men’s cloths. The outfits and the accessories are as decorated, colorful and embellished as women’s. They are far from boring grey suit and tie combination.

Ottoman Household 17th 18th Century - Ethnography Museum, Ankara

 Woman's Coat17th 18th Century - Ethnography Museum, Ankara

Men's Outfit 17th Century Ethnography Museum, Ankara 

The carpets, kilims and rugs are woven with symbols representing natural in beautiful geometric forms. I was quite taken by the metal work and glasswork as well. A lot of metal is used for tableware along ceramic and wood pieces; all enchantingly decorated. I specifically liked the 13^th century Selçuk ceramic tiles, their deep blue well-known turquoise color; and the not so much known woodcarvings. Woodcarvings are interlacing geometric patterns filling up the space. Such craftsmanship!

Woodcarved door 15th Century, Ethnography Museum, Ankara 

13th Century Selçuk Ceramic Tiles, Ethnography Museum, Ankara

Like many other cultures of the past, Ottomans filled their everyday life space with objects that were rich in color, form, design and detail. They were great craftsmen. They ruled a vast geography, took influence and cultivated skills from these places. There is meaning, texture, warmth, and comfort in these objects as much as functionality. They decorated everything, from socks to spoons, from handkerchiefs to bath towels, from ceilings to carpets. I couldn’t help think, when did we all get so boring! (The slow death of craftsmanship replaced by mass production may be the reason.)
                           

The photographs I took does not do the objects much justice.  The museum website have better visual content: http://www.etnografyamuzesi.gov.tr/en/

In the book Turkish Embroidery, Pauline Johnstone describes that men in workshops produced most of the commercial embroidery in Ottoman times. This was a little surprising fact, as I definitely would think that embriodery was entirely a women’s domain. However, Muslim women were not allowed to take on paid work at those times and men did most of the gold work. Gold work appeared in military, religious and ceremonial outfits and panels. 

Joyse Ross in her book Ottoman embroidery describes that early Ottoman embroidery used strong basic colors, but in 18^th century they became muted and more pastel. Embroiders used, darning, chain, herringbone, crouching stiches along with “atma” and “turkish triangular” stitches. 
Looking at all the visual resources I gathered, I realized that the embroidery designs are quite different from the western world. More abstract forms of expression are employed. The use of human and animal form is restricted in Islamic world in Ottoman times, therefore the artists and craftsmen turned into nature to decorate their work. However these nature forms are arranged in a geometric framework. Flowers are soft but they are arranged in interlacing hexagons, used around borders to define the form of the object, etc. It was believed then that the abstraction of this kind, repetition and geometric form was a depiction of the divine. The nature was thought to be the reflection of divine.  The Ottoman craftsmen used rose, carnation and tulip (which became the symbol empire itself representing upper-class and wealth) in their abundance.

Resources:

“Turkish Embroidery” by Pauline Johnstone, V&A Publications, 1985. This book gives a brief history of the pieces in V&A collections.

‘Beginner’s Guide to Ottoman Embroidery’, Joyce I Ross, Search Press, 2005.

A Museum Ethnographic in Ankara, Museum Catalogue, Published by Directorate of Culture and Tourism, 2010.

The Turks: A Journey of a thousand years 600-1600” Exhibition Catalogue Royal Academy of Arts, 2005