Ottoman Empire Period Turkish Embroideries

19^th CENTURY EMBROIDERIES

In the 19. century, where all the stitches used in preceding centuries are employed, an increase is seen in the number of stitches used in a single cover. The proof are the pieces embroidered with compositions like “pesent”, herringbone stitch, “hasar” stitch, “kesme ajur”, “mushabbak”, “hesap”, wire pleat, patchwork, knot, crochet, embossment, applique etc. In this period “anavata”, astrakhan stitch, patchwork and ajur variations are noticed as the new types of stitch. Also to be noticed are the richness of the “dival” work variations known as “mıhlama” in popular speech.

Embroideries are made in centers like home, palace, bazaar, school, army, dervish lodge. The needlework, thought to be by women before, is gradually observed to have been made in schools. The examples of cloth with needlework taught in traditional ways or by experienced women, are interesting examples of technical education.

The Industrial School for Girls established in 1865 in Ruschuk by Mithat Pasha for orphaned and homeless girls was followed by; The Yedikule Reformatory for Girls established in 1869, Art Schools for Girls established in Uskudar in 1878 and in Aksaray in 1879. According to the records, alongside these schools of 5 years, army personnel was also known to be making embroideries. A good example is the panel in Military museum (inventory number 838), showing various flags embroidered by the 6. Regiment, 3. battalion, 1. company personnel in 1896. In terms of production workshops in the bazaar are seen to have been left behind the ones in the palace. Meanwhile homemade embroidery carries on its position of nourishing both the bazaar and the palace.There is no doubt that the innovation of the century was the use of machines in embroidery, alongside handwork.

On the other hand, the embroidery set composed of a pincushion fitted between two props mounted on a circular base in Topkapı Palace Museum (inventory number 31/40) and embroidery pattern (48.3 x 34.9 cm. in dimension) drawn with ink on paper (inventory number GY144/154), point out to the countless free-style stitches becoming widespread and to the presence of pattern catalouges and designers. Likewise, when talking about his observations in Bursa Lecomte sheds light on the matter saying; “the pattern is formed not with print, or stamp. These are drawn by designers.” He completes his impressions of Istanbul bazaar with these words; “The pattern to be embroidered was cut off from a single pasteboard. This was used to form a thickness on the cloth and embroidery threads covered it. This was a long process but an artistic one. Today art pieces are rare. A motif is cut and repeated several times to complete the pattern. Art is replaced by craft. In the bazaar you see small shops where these patterns are cut. These patterns are made using press technique with pieces of pear tree wwod or boxwood, and they are cut with a curled steel knife. A worker cuts 7-8 pieces at a time.”

Same authors convey this information about the embroideries and the processors; “ Silk embroidery on tulle is made in “suzeni” form in Bursa. In order to make a table cloth of 5 colors; a type of mosaic, a master has to make the 5 clothes at the same time. Each cloth is embroidered with unique elements of patterns. White embroidery is geometrical, It adheres to the rules. The method used in gilded silver or silver embroidery is simple. The patterns cut off the yellow pasteboard for relief is put on the cloth and fixed with a “temel” thread. Then with silver gilded thread the borders of the pattern to be covered are embroidered and with yellow thread the tips are made. This time, gilded silver thread is embroidered backwards from the other side using the same method. In ancient embroidery the silver gilded thread was also seamed from beneath, thus the two sides were identical. But this economical method is now preferred. The ancient embroidery was mostly performed with small dots like the Lyon embroidery. In “Yanya” embroidery a type of gobelin stitch was used. Today the most frequently used are; “suzeni”, “dival” and “anavata” made by hand or machinery. In the Orient the embroideries were framed with laces. An embroiderer earns 2-4 “para”s (one fourtieth of a kurush) per day. As for the artists the daily fee is around 5-10 paras. A “brodöz” (embroiderer) earning 20 kurush is accepted as a great master. The amount of gold given to them was weighed before they began and after the embroidery was done they got a daily fee of 4-20 para. Embroidery was a sector employing great numbers of men and women. Some plants employ 300 workers. These embroiderers lived in various neighbourhoods in Samatya, Yeniköy and Bogaziçi and most of them in Istanbul. The Sadullah Levy Company in Istanbul employed 600 workers.