B.Sc.

in Fashion Design and Apparel Engineering

Level-4, Term-1
Course Name: Garment Surface Ornamentation
Course Code: FAD – 404

Lecture Session Title

9  Introduction to Croatian embroidery

 Introduction to Turkish embroidery

Croatian Embroidery

Source: The Textile Blog

The modern state of Croatia could be said to entail at least three distinct traditional areas,
that of Croatia proper, Slavonia, Dalmatia/Istria, along with a number of smaller but no
less distinct regions. All of the regions that make up modern day Croatia have their own
cultural and craft distinctiveness and so any attempt to introduce a craft subject that just
talks of Croatia has to take this into consideration.
As in much of the Balkans, the Turkish influence on craft and design techniques is strong.
As far as embroidery is concernedthere are really three
main influences on the Croatian craft as a whole, that of
Turkish, Venetian and Slavic. The Turkish influence is
strongest in the east, while Venice and Italy had the
strongest influence in the west along the Adriatic coast. It
can be said therefore, that the embroidery work produced
in Slavonia in the east is the most Turkish in influence,
while Dalmatia and Istria along the Adriatic coast has the
most Venetian influence, while Croatia proper in the
centre has the most obvious links with Slavic embroidery
design work. Although this is not a necessarily strictly
rigid explanation of the full influences on the different
aspects and regions of Croatian embroidery, it does to
some extent help to explain the regional variations.

Croatian women were proficient in most forms of textile crafts and skills including
weaving, spinning, lace making and embroidery. Weaving was by far the most widespread
and popular of the crafts and it has been said that the weaving skills base of Croatia was
second only to that of the traditions of Sweden. Interestingly, often embroidery was
incorporated into woven work while it was still attached to the loom.

All of the examples shown in this article are embroidered with silk threads and derive
from both Croatia proper and Slavonia. They are all embroidered pieces used to decorate
women's caps. These caps were status objects as they were used as a symbol of adult
womanhood and were given after a wedding ceremony. They were then worn to denote a
new stage in a woman's life.

The pattern work in all the pieces does show a remarkable similarity to carpet design work
particularly that of Turkish origin. It has to be remembered that much of the weaving that
took place in Croatia and Slavonia during and after the period of the Turkish Empire, was
that of carpet weaving. Even though Croatia proper was under Turkish occupation for
much less time than other areas of the Balkans including Slavonia, it was always on the
border of the Turkish Empire and would have been strongly influenced by the culture of
carpet weaving that was widespread throughout the Balkans during the Turkish
occupation.

As with all craft disciplines and particularly when concerned with the often complex
patchwork of cultures and peoples that make up the Balkans, the subject of Croatian
embroidery can only ever be an introduction. Future articles will take a much more
detailed look at much smaller and distinctive areas and regions of both Croatia and the
Balkans in general.
 TURKISH EMBROIDERY

The art of embroidery, which belongs to an ancient tradition with roots extending from the dawn
of history to the present day, has traditionally occupied an important place in Turkish life.
Needlework found a particularly wide range of applications, among the Ottoman Turks, especially
in the court and its circle which produced embroidery of such high quality that it has all the
characteristics of fine art. This is true even of terms used in the daily life of the palace, such as
men's and women's garments, for example robes, kaftans, underclothing, a variety of decorated
headscarves, numerous kinds of headgear, such as head bangs called kaştıbastı; and, also waist
bands, belts, and handkerchiefs. The most striking examples of Turkish embroidery, however, are
those that were used in the furnishings of the palaces-divan and cushion covers, floor coverings
known as nihale, wall and door curtains, and covers for the throne. Embroidery, however, was
not an art limited to the palace. On the contrary, because textiles of all kinds were so closely
connected with the Turkish way of life, embroidery was produced and used at every level of
society, from the most exalted to the humblest. Whether made for a sultan or a peasant, it added
color and beauty to everything from military campaign tents to the most delicate hand towel.

Although the Ottomans must certainly have used embroidery from an early date, there are no
surviving examples from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It is not until the beginning of
the sixteenth century that we find documents listing master embroiderers among the salaried
artists in the Ottoman court. This group, called the Cemaat-i Zerduzan, worked almost exclusively
with gold threads (zerzud). Generally numbering between six and seven, they worked in a section
in the first court of Topkapı Palace and produced their most outstanding works during the
sixteenth century. Although the term zerzud was originally applied only to the gold thread itself,
it has come to be particularly associated with one of the techniques in which these embroiderers
specialized. Thus, zerzud refers to a couch in which the entire surface of the fabric, usually satin,
is covered with parallel lengths of gold metallic thread. The thread does not pierce the fabric but
remains entirely on the surface, anchored in place by regularly spaced stitches in a perpendicular
fashion. In some cases, silk threads were also added in certain parts for color and definition of
the fabric. Rare examples of these superb embroideries are still preserved in the Topkapı Palace
Museum, the most outstanding of which are two kaftans which belonged to one of Sultan
Süleyman's sons, Prince Mehmet, who died in 1543, sashes thought to have been worn by the
chief servants of the privy chamber, and the cover of an illlustrated manuscript dated 1584. The
zerduzan's also worked in other techniques using gold threads. One of these, called dival, involves
the winding of a single or grouped metal yarns back and forth in parallel lines over a motif cut
from stiff leather. As in zerduz, the metal yarn never pierces the fabric but is held in place by
separate threads, in this case stitched only along the motif's edges. This technique produces
patterns which have plain fabric ground with an embossed appearance. Still another type of
embroidery called sarma, literally wrapping, consists essentially of a satin stitch worked in gold,
with one side of the finished product virtually indistinguishable from the other. All three of these
techniques were used to embellish such varied items as saddles, horse covers, quivers and bow
bags, as well as garments and furnishings. Some of the latter, especially those used in the Arz
Odası, or Audience Chamber were fashioned with precious gold. In these throne covers, curtains,
and floor covers the art of the embroiderer is combined with that of the jeweler. Only a very few
of these outstanding pieces have survived to the present, some still on display in the Arz Odası.
They were embroidered with golden rubies, and their branches and leaves were made entirely
of pearls.