Bath Wrap or Sash
18th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
We do not know whether this border is from a bath wrap or from a sash. A bath wrap was a large cloth made from three widths of fabric. People who visited the hamman (public baths) would wrap them round their bodies when they rested after bathing. People wore sashes round the waist and tied them so that the decorative ends hung at knee level.
From about the 1720s onwards Ottoman embroidery stopped copying woven designs and became a truly creative art form. Designers introduced new, lifelike floral decorations, many of which were very detailed. They allowed some floral decorations to sway and sweep across the fabric. Some were stylised. All decorations were worked in soft colours often enriched with metal thread. The colours of many 18th century embroideries were originally very bright but they have faded to pleasing pastel shades.
From about the 1720s onwards Ottoman embroidery stopped copying woven designs and became a truly creative art form. Designers introduced new, lifelike floral decorations, many of which were very detailed. They allowed some floral decorations to sway and sweep across the fabric. Some were stylised. All decorations were worked in soft colours often enriched with metal thread. The colours of many 18th century embroideries were originally very bright but they have faded to pleasing pastel shades.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Hand woven linen, embroidered with silk and metal thread |
| Brief description | Bath wrap or sash of hand woven linen embroidered with silk, Turkey, 18th century. |
| Physical description | Bath wrap or sash of hand woven linen embroidered with silk and metal thread in double darning on the diagonal. There is a narrow band worked with metal thread along the lower end. The upper edge of the decorative border is marked by a fine line. The decoration is formed by four off-set bands, each containing two floral motifs. One of a fine vertical green stem with small leaves and a large, drooping pink carnation with a gold centre. Below the carnation head is a small pink flower, possibly a cyclamen. The other motif is of a fine vertical stem curving slightly at the top with a serrated pink and green leaf growing to one side from its base. The stem bears nine small flowers outlined in red. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Style | |
| Credit line | Given by Dr Joan Evans |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | We do not know whether this border is from a bath wrap or from a sash. A bath wrap was a large cloth made from three widths of fabric. People who visited the hamman (public baths) would wrap them round their bodies when they rested after bathing. People wore sashes round the waist and tied them so that the decorative ends hung at knee level. From about the 1720s onwards Ottoman embroidery stopped copying woven designs and became a truly creative art form. Designers introduced new, lifelike floral decorations, many of which were very detailed. They allowed some floral decorations to sway and sweep across the fabric. Some were stylised. All decorations were worked in soft colours often enriched with metal thread. The colours of many 18th century embroideries were originally very bright but they have faded to pleasing pastel shades. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.171&A-1975 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | January 5, 2001 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
