16 Hughes St, Mile End
21 Aug 2022 - 31 Mar 2023
A celebration of Turkish embroidery, this exhibition features a medley of beautifully worked hand towels, trouser panels, wrapping cloths, scarves, sashes and more. A few rare objects date from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Fabrics range from delicate gauzes and silks to both fine and coarse handwoven cottons and linens. The embroidery can be simple and monotone or complex, dense, detailed, and vibrant. Designs and motifs include many different stylized flowers. Also depicted are fruits, medallions, urns, trees, spirals, roosters, houses, boats, water ewers and Kufic script. Needleweaving, Turkish lace, metal thread work, surface stitchery, counted thread work, tambour work, laid work, and couching all feature. Some of the embroidery is reversible. A close look at the stunning effect that can be achieved using the Turkish stitches, Musabak and Murver stitch, is recommended.
