Name of Object:

Wall hanging

Location:

Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

Holding Museum:

National Museums of Scotland (NMS)

About National Museums of Scotland (NMS), Edinburgh

Date of Object:

Hegira 11th century / AD 17th century

Museum Inventory Number:

A. 1947.75

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Linen and silk embroidery.

Dimensions:

Length 182.8 cm, width 137.2 cm

Period / Dynasty:

Ottoman

Provenance:

Turkey.

Description:

A wall hanging for a domestic interior comprising three widths of coarse, brownish linen sewn together and embroidered in blue, red, yellow and green coloured silks using darning stitch. The overall composition is of staggered abstracted carnations that alternate with paired tulips; these rise from a split stem with serrated leaves issuing from either side. A turquoise-blue scalloped border surrounds the central composition.

View Short Description

Ottoman embroideries like this one are dated to the late AH 11th / AD 17th century. Professional embroideries of the highest quality were the prerogative of the Ottoman court, while throughout the empire ladies strove to echo fashionable court designs in their domestic embroidery work.

How date and origin were established:

This embroidery belongs to a group of well-known Ottoman embroideries ascribed to the late 11th / 17th century.

How Object was obtained:

Bequest of Mrs Charlotte M. Cameron in 1947.

How provenance was established:

This embroidery belongs to a group of well-known Ottoman embroideries ascribed to the late 11th / 17th century.

Selected bibliography:

Scarce, J., Domestic Culture in the Middle East: an Exploration of the Household Interior, Edinburgh, 1996, p.100 (where item is illustrated).

Citation of this web page:

Ulrike Al-Khamis "Wall hanging" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;uk;Mus03;48;en

Prepared by: Ulrike Al-KhamisUlrike Al-Khamis

Ulrike Al-Khamis is Principal Curator for the Middle East and South Asia at the National Museums of Scotland in Edinburgh. She began her academic career in Germany before completing her BA (1st class Hons) in Islamic Art and Archaeology at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London in 1987. The same year she moved to Edinburgh, where she completed her Ph.D. thesis on “Early Islamic Bronze and Brass Ewers from the 7th to the 13th Century AD” in 1994. From 1994 to 1999 she worked as Curator of Muslim Art and Culture for Glasgow Museums and, in 1997, was one of the main instigators of the first ever Scottish Festival of Muslim Culture, SALAAM. Since 1999 she has been based at the Royal Museum in Edinburgh, where she has curated several exhibitions and continues to publish aspects of the collections. In addition to her museum work she has contributed regularly to the teaching of the Fine Arts Department at the University of Edinburgh.

Copyedited by: Mandi GomezMandi Gomez

Amanda Gomez is a freelance copy-editor and proofreader working in London. She studied Art History and Literature at Essex University (1986–89) and received her MA (Area Studies Africa: Art, Literature, African Thought) from SOAS in 1990. She worked as an editorial assistant for the independent publisher Bellew Publishing (1991–94) and studied at Bookhouse and the London College of Printing on day release. She was publications officer at the Museum of London until 2000 and then took a role at Art Books International, where she worked on projects for independent publishers and arts institutions that included MWNF’s English-language editions of the books series Islamic Art in the Mediterranean. She was part of the editorial team for further MWNF iterations: Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean Virtual Museum and the illustrated volume Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean.

True to its ethos of connecting people through the arts, MWNF has provided Amanda with valuable opportunities for discovery and learning, increased her editorial experience, and connected her with publishers and institutions all over the world. More recently, the projects she has worked on include MWNF’s Sharing History Virtual Museum and Exhibition series, Vitra Design Museum’s Victor Papanek and Objects of Desire, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s online publication 2 or 3 Tigers and its volume Race, Nation, Class.

MWNF Working Number: UK3 48

RELATED CONTENT

 Artistic Introduction

 Timeline for this item

Islamic Dynasties / Period

Ottomans


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