Napkin or Hand Towel

Napkin or Hand Towel

Richly embroidered towels and napkins were among the more common textiles produced for the middle and upper classes of Ottoman society. A longitudinal linen or cotton fabric would be woven in fine plain weave, then embellished on both ends with embroidery in silk and / or metallic threads. The plain center of the cloth served to clean or dry the hands during meals and other occasions. The characteristically colorful embroidery features a variety of motifs, usually floral and vegetal compositions or scenes of gardens with tall cypress trees and pavilions reflecting life in the luxurious mansions of the wealthy during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.[1] Although intended for domestic use, these lavish textiles were also sent to Europe and America, particularly in the second half of the nineteenth century, to be displayed at the international fairs in which the Ottomans participated.[2]

The small size of the present example suggests it was intended to serve as a napkin or towel. Its symmetrical decoration, skillfully embroidered in red, blue, yellow, and brown, is composed of repeating motifs, square-shaped medallions, and branches of hyacinths. The hyacinths belong to the classical floral repertoire that flourished in Ottoman art during the mid-sixteenth and the seventeenth century and probably indicate a dating to the eighteenth century here. At each end a prominent cypress tree, flanked by ewers, forms a central axis. A large bird is depicted at the top of each tree, with a smaller one to each side, each holding a leaf in its mouth. The cypress tree and ewer iconography, known from prayer rugs and funerary contexts, may symbolize paradise, while the birds holding a leaf may hint at a Christian iconography.[3]

Deniz Beyazit in [Higgins Harvey 2021]

Footnotes:

1. See Bilgi, Hülya and Idil Zanbak. Skill of the Hand, Delight of the Eye: Ottoman Embroideries in the Sadberk Hanim Museum Collection. Exh. cat. Istanbul: Sadberk Hanim Müzezi, 2012.

2. See Marianne Ellis and Jennifer Wearden. Ottoman Embroidery. London: V&A Publications, 2001, p. 14.

3. Continuing this line of interpretation, the crosslike motif embroidered on the trees might be seen as another Christian symbol. A merchant’s stamp (in Arabic / Ottoman script) on one end of the napkin indicates that it was intended for sale in the market.

Edward C. Moore (American), New York (until d. 1891; bequeathed to MMA)

Beyazit, Deniz, Maryam Ekhtiar, and Sheila R. Canby. Collecting Inspiration : Edward C. Moore at Tiffany & Co., edited by Medill Higgins Harvey. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2021. no. 135, pp. 200–1, ill.