Art Institute of Chicago

Towel

Republic of Türkiye

Date

1750–1850

Medium

Cotton, plain weave with supplementary brocading wefts; embroidered with silk and metal-strip-wrapped silk

Culture

Republic of Türkiye

Department

Textiles

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

During the 17th century, Ottoman artists in Turkey developed a taste for flowers presented in clusters and in profile—a trend also seen in works made by the Safavids, in Iran, and the Mughals, in India. The motif can be traced to the introduction of European herbals, books that illustrated flowers in this fashion. This particularly sumptuous example has a ground fabric, usually plain in Turkish production, which was woven with a subtle and beautiful repeat pattern of diamonds.

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