Article about Ottoman prisoner of war beadwork written by Dianne Rutherford and published on the Australian War memorial website.
Ottoman prisoner of war beadwork bag with tassels
1918Ottoman prisoner of war beadwork bag with tassels. It has been handmade with small glass beads using the beaded crochet method.
It comprises a rectangular pouch made from pale blue and black beads in a diamond lattice pattern. At the top of the bag is a band made from the same pale blue beads on a woven fabric background. From the front, the letters 'T.P.' and the date '1918' are written on the band using bright blue beads. From the back, there is Arabic script formed by the same bright blue beads.
Attached to the back of the band are two single layer triangular sections of the same pale blue and black lattice. These each end in a single point to which a cloth tassel is attached. These would have fallen forward to close the bag.
There is a strap made of segments made from three straight rows of five blue beads separated by three black beads.
At the bottom of the pouch are two single layer triangular sections of the pale blue and black lattice, each ending in two points. There is thread attached to the four points which would formerly have supported cloth tassels.
Aside from the missing tassels, the bag is in excellent condition.
An excellent article about Ottoman beadwork by AWM researcher, Dianne Rutherford, is attached.
There are several examples in the collection including two snakes of different sizes and designs.
Some bags or purses similar to this one are observed to have fabric lining, but there is no evidence that this ever did. The weave is quite close and would contain larger items. Perhaps it was meant to be purely decorative rather than functional.
The "T.P.' on the band stands for Turkish Prisoner - something that is often written on larger items like snakes.
Details
Details
On band:
"T.P. 1918"
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