This is what paradise could look like. Pavilions and tents in blooming gardens. In between cypresses, plane trees and huge flowers. This scene is depicted on a yağlik, an Ottoman linen cloth embroidered on the narrow side, which was used to cover the knees when eating. You could also say napkin to it. The motifs mentioned were embroidered on the cloth in gold, silver, red, dark green and other colors. The special feature: the cloth has no front and back, but two identical, equal front sides. It is not known who created them. Just like most of the other woven and embroidered cloths from the 18th to 20th centuries that can currently be seen in Munich’s Five Continents Museum.
“In dry towels. Woven and embroidered items from the Ottoman Empire” is the name of the exhibition that takes you to a strange world that ended 100 years ago. On November 1, 1922, the government in Ankara under Mustafa Kemal abolished the sultanate. And with it the courtly, elitist everyday culture that was evident in many of the exhibits. Among them are head, belt and bath towels, wrap or mirror towels and the mentioned serviettes. They were made by women at home, for their own use, dowry and sometimes for sale. Most of the luxurious specimens with embroidery on velvet, leather or satin came from urban manufactories, and many men worked there.
With the quality and fashion of the cloths used, one demonstrated one’s wealth and one’s social position. The same applied to the coffee pots or cups, the candy jar or the sandals that one wore in the hammam, in the bathhouse. There are also examples of this in the very informative and sensually appealing exhibition. You learn a lot about the symbolic meaning and social background of the motifs, various embroidery techniques are explained and how a plain weave works. Much of this is deepened in the catalogue, which is the responsibility of Anahita Nasrin Mittertrainer. And in addition to lectures, readings and guided tours, the accompanying program also offers embroidery workshops for children and adults.
Corresponding embroidery patterns, materials and motif templates are already on a table in the middle of the exhibition. You can look at them and touch them while short films are shown on screens all around, in which hands are washed or a hand pours coffee into cups. This should show that the things you see here in the showcases are part of everyday life. They had a very sensual moment. They were sometimes kept in chests. But they should not only impress and please, but also be used, taken in hand. Accordingly, you can see repairs on some cloths and thus their history.
It is also interesting how the motives changed. Baroque and rococo influences were evident in the 18th century. And in the 19th century, with garlands, fluttering silk ribbons or naturalistic plants, there were almost exclusively western motifs. The pieces shown come from the museum’s own stocks as well as the private collections of Werner Middendorf and Ulla Ther. Some were bought at markets, others were passed from mothers to daughters in a manner similar to the western tradition of dowries. Quotations at the very end remind you of this. “It’s the only thing I’ve got left over generations,” writes a woman about the contents of a bequeathed chest. Which shows that many of the scarves were not least very personal treasures.
In dry towels. Woven and embroidered items from the Ottoman Empire, until June 11th, Five Continents Museum, Maximilianstr. 42, www.museum-fuenf-kontinente.de