Border
1840-1870 (made)
| Place of origin |
At the end of the 18th century embroidery designs began to develop as heavily stylised borders for towels and napkins. The colours are strong, and greater quantities of metal thread were used. The designs were consistently inventive. The colours in some 19th century embroideries were originally very bright but have faded to pastel shades. There is an embroidered inscription on this example that gives the name of the embroiderer as Ayşe Hanım, daughter of Hasan Ağa , and the place of production as Bebek, a settlement on the European shore of the Bosphorus, now part of Istanbul. Embroideries worked by this family were displayed at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Cotton, embroidered with silk in double darning, and with metal thread in double darning, musabak, fishbone and satin stitch |
| Brief description | Cotton towel embroidered with silk and metal thread, Bebek, Istanbul, 1840-1870 |
| Physical description | Napkin borders joined together, cotton embroidered with silk in double darning and with metal thread in double darning, musabak, fishbone and satin stitch. There is a narrow geometric border worked in metal thread along either end and above this is a repeated, stylised motif alternating in colour: either cream and metal thread or blue and metal thread. To the left in each motif is a slightly curving stem and leaves worked in metal thread; branching from this, to the right, are two elongated blossoms and to the side of these are three small pairs of leaves in metal thread. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | ببک ده حسن آغانک کریمه سی عائشه خانم ماشا [ا]لله (Ottoman Turkish)
|
| Credit line | Given by Maj. Lee |
| Production | Embroideries worked by this family were displayed at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | At the end of the 18th century embroidery designs began to develop as heavily stylised borders for towels and napkins. The colours are strong, and greater quantities of metal thread were used. The designs were consistently inventive. The colours in some 19th century embroideries were originally very bright but have faded to pastel shades. There is an embroidered inscription on this example that gives the name of the embroiderer as Ayşe Hanım, daughter of Hasan Ağa , and the place of production as Bebek, a settlement on the European shore of the Bosphorus, now part of Istanbul. Embroideries worked by this family were displayed at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851. |
| Bibliographic reference | Illustrated in 'Ottoman Embroidery' by Marianne Ellis and Jennifer Wearden (V&A Publication, 2001); plate 108 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.103-1934 |
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| Record created | February 2, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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