Khudozhestvennyĭ tekstilʹ Osmanskoĭ imperii XVI-nachala XX v.

This is a catalogue raisonné of the State Museum of Oriental Art{u2019}s modest but representative collection consisting of 38 textiles, 19 embroideries, and 9 elements of traditional costume. The introductory article chronicles the formation of the collection, points out the traditional kinds of ornamentation, and highlights individual popular motifs. Separate chapters concentrate on satin and velvet works of the sixteenth to the eighteenth century and on embroidery of the eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth century. The author focuses on the problems of attribution, proposing certain general principles of dating and the identification of Ottoman fabrics and embroideries; she also summarizes the historiography on Turkish textiles. Catalogue entries give technological characteristics of each item, describe its use, note the region where it was current, and indicate analogous works in other collections. Many details supplement the plates to give a close look at the intricate and beautiful patterns. Publishing the collection in full is especially useful, since the museum lacks space to keep on permanent display many of the works. -- Summary written by John W. Emerich, Bronze Horseman Literary Agency.