embroidered, 1700-20, Turkish

One face of a cushion cover, or yastik, silk embroidered with silk in atma.
The red ground is decorated with three bands of offset circles worked in white silk. The top and bottom bands contain two complete motifs; the centre band contains one complete and two partial motifs. Each motif contains a small circle at the lower end containing a blue roundel and a floral sprig, above which are a pair of stems with carnation and tulip, a blue roundel and a pair of hyacinth sprays. These are worked in reserve. There are small blue flowerheads between the circular motifs. Along the upper and lower ends is a line of niches, each containing a hyacinth spray.
The design is similar to those used on velvet and silk cushion covers of this date.

This is one face of a rectangular cushion cover. The back would have been plain fabric. Cushions were used to form the seat and back of a divan. This was a raised bench which ran along three sides of reception rooms. In the 17th century some Ottoman textiles were decorated with strong medallion-shaped compartments, often combined with delicate lattices. In this example the designer has abandoned the lattice and only the medallions remain.

934-1897