Embroidery tells a 300-year-old story in the Ottoman Empire era

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

The exhibition tells the story of an ordinary day that might have taken place in Ottoman houses. The classic arts are also brought to light at the exhibition as it is also possible to discover the 17th Century Ottoman arts and traditional embroidery.

Daily life and palace life are explored in a new exhibition that unravels the threads of 300 years of embroidery history in the Ottoman Empire. Hosted by the first private museum Sadberk Hanım the exhibition showcases works belonging to 17th Century and later, telling the story of a popular historical era. The exhibition has been curated by Hülya Bilgi and İdil Zanbak and will continue until May 26.

For the exhibition, the museum has collected the best examples of Ottoman embroidery.

The foundation of the collection consists of work collected by Vehbi Koç’s wife, Sadberk Koç, according to museum manager Hülya Bilgi. The museum’s main collection consists of Koç’s collection. Noting that Sadberk Koç was a very traditional woman, Bilgili said, Sadberk Koç had dreamt of exhibiting the Ottoman handicrafts she had collected over the years. The collection includes many clothes and accessories belonging to the Ottman era, which Sadberk Koç had been looking to exhibit in a museum. “The art lovers will be able to discover the accessories, clothes and embroideries from the Ottoman Empire, dating between the 17th and 20th centuries,” said Bilgi.

Museum’s private collection

The museum’s collection initially consisted of the private collection of Sadberk Koç, which included traditional costumes, embroidery, silver artifacts with “tuğra” and porcelain and suchlike artifacts, and in due course was augmented with donations and purchases. Following the demise of Hüseyin Kocabaş, one of the greatest collectors of Turkey, his collection was also added to the Sadberk Hanım Museum’s Collection. In 1983, the Vehbi Koç Foundation decided to purchase the neighboring mansion that was believed to have been built around the beginning of the 20th Century in order to accommodate the Hüseyin Kocabaş Collection and the mansion’s facade was restored to its original form. The mansion’s restoration project was prepared by Architect Ibrahim Yalçın and on Oct. 24, 1988, the building was opened to the public as the museum’s annex and was named the “Sevgi Gönül Building”. In 1988, the building was chosen as an example for contemporary museums due to its exhibition layout and was honored with the Europa Nostra Award. At the time of its foundation, the Sadberk Hanım Museum contained 3,000 pieces. At present, the inventory has grown to hold more than 18,000 pieces in its collection.

An ordinary life at Ottoman houses

The exhibition tells the story of an ordinary day that might have taken place in Ottoman houses, according to Zanbak, one of the exhibition’s curators. While the exhibition reveals the items most used in embroideries, such as curtains, linens, bed linens, towels and other fabrics, visitors will also receive information about the homes of Ottoman women as well as learn how they furnished their houses in that time.

Classic arts

The classic arts are also brought to light at the exhibition as it is also possible to discover the 17th Century Ottoman arts and traditional embroidery at the exhibition, Zanbak said. There are many İznik tiles and ceramics, which reveal the traditional art styles of the time.

“Apart from these, the habits of daily lives are an important part of the exhibition. The Turkish coffee serving styles, dowry presentations, hamam and bath traditions are revealed at the exhibit,” she said. These works are presented using a visual, story-telling style.

The style displays an ancient style that comes from the Ottoman Empire, said Zanbak, adding that in the tiles and the embroideries the style that the professional artists are revealed. These also run parallel with other arts from Ottoman culture.