Entari thumbnail 1
Not on display

This object consists of 3 parts, some of which may be located elsewhere.

Entari

ca. 1900 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This gown is said to have been worn by a bride at her wedding, but it is not designed for movement or necessarily for close inspection. It is made from a length of green silk which has been embroidered with couched metal thread and lines of glittering sequins, in a floral pattern that had been printed or drawn on the fabric. The silk was cut into the pieces required for the robe. Cutting and seaming through embroidery seems like sacrilege in an age and culture where hand-decoration is expensive, but it is not an uncommon practice where labour is relatively cheap. The edges have been decorated with an elaborate trimming of metal thread that has been twisted and stitched into a complex floral motif. As the silk has no backing the trimming is floppy and reveals the unsightly tacking stitches that hold the individual metal threads in place. However, this is a presentation gown in which the wearer was expected to stand perfectly still. This style of garment is designed to trail on the floor, with each panel elegantly arranged over and around the woman’s feet. With the bride immobilized in this way, each part of the trimming could be carefully adjusted to create a breathtaking vision of green and gold.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 3 parts.
(Some alternative part names are also shown below)
  • Robe
  • Entari
  • Dress
  • Kaftan
  • Trousers
  • Sash
Materials and techniques
Embroidered silk with metal thread and sequins, braid, lined with cotton
Brief description
Woman's wedding outfit consisting of an entari of embroidered silk in metal thread, silk trousers and sash, Turkey, ca. 1900
Physical description
Woman's wedding outfit consisting of an entari of embroidered green watered-silk in metal thread with flowing floral scrolls, and sequins. Lined with cotton. Worn with pink silk trousers embellished with applied gold braid and lined with cotton, and an embroidered green silk sash with sequins.
Credit line
Given by Miss Inés de Vaudry
Object history
This costume belonged to Princess Eff-keen-Oskanyan, who was the donor's mother, part of an Armenian Christian family resident in Istanbul. It is said to have been worn as one of her wedding garments.
Subject depicted
Summary
This gown is said to have been worn by a bride at her wedding, but it is not designed for movement or necessarily for close inspection. It is made from a length of green silk which has been embroidered with couched metal thread and lines of glittering sequins, in a floral pattern that had been printed or drawn on the fabric. The silk was cut into the pieces required for the robe. Cutting and seaming through embroidery seems like sacrilege in an age and culture where hand-decoration is expensive, but it is not an uncommon practice where labour is relatively cheap. The edges have been decorated with an elaborate trimming of metal thread that has been twisted and stitched into a complex floral motif. As the silk has no backing the trimming is floppy and reveals the unsightly tacking stitches that hold the individual metal threads in place. However, this is a presentation gown in which the wearer was expected to stand perfectly still. This style of garment is designed to trail on the floor, with each panel elegantly arranged over and around the woman’s feet. With the bride immobilized in this way, each part of the trimming could be carefully adjusted to create a breathtaking vision of green and gold.
Bibliographic reference
Crill, Rosemary, Jennifer Wearden and Verity Wilson. Dress in Detail from Around the World. London: V&A Publications, 2002. 224 p., ill. ISBN 09781851773787. p. 88
Collection
Accession number
T.96 to B-1954

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Record createdFebruary 5, 2004
Record URL
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