Bordure de drap aux vases et jeunes filles à l'éventail

A silk embroidered border with feminine figures, Ottoman Epirus, probably Ioannina, Greece, circa 1700 Greece, Epirus, Jannina, circa 1700 Cotton or linen fabric, embroidered with silk and silver thread in impiétant pastel stitch, depicting groups of rosy-cheeked women holding fans, vases of tulips and carnations, cypresses, peacocks and birds. 260 x 44 cm Provenance : Former Benli collection Exhibition: Turquie, au nom de la tulipe, Ed. de l'Albaron, 1993, reproduced p. 22-23, p. 112, n°99 of the exhibition catalog. Oeuvre comparable // Similar works : Metropolitan Museum of Art, inv. n°31.42 ; Benaki Museum, inv. ΓΕ 6304 and inv. ΓΕ 6307. This piece was part of the furnishings for a bed or sofa in a luxurious home. Produced in Epirus, an important center of textile production in the Balkans, this embroidery stands out for the quality of its execution, the diversity of its motifs, and the presence of these female figures from the upper middle class. This piece was part of the furnishings of a bed or sofa in a luxurious home. Produced in Epirus, a major centre of textile production in the Balkans, this embroidery stands out for the quality of its workmanship, the diversity of its motifs, and the presence of these female figures from the upper middle classes. A symbol of an empire, the tulip is of Turkish origin and gives its name to an historic period, the Tulip Era (1703-1730), which saw the Ottoman world open up to the West under the leadership of Sultan Ahmet III. The tulip then adorned the most beautiful objets d'art, as shown in this scene of dancers holding tulips to their noses. It is likely that this scene illustrates the "Lale" (tulip) festival held in April to celebrate their flowering. As soon as diplomats and travellers were able to bring back onions of this precious flower, it conquered Europe as a curiosity of nature. It was first brought to Austria in the mid-sixteenth century by the ambassador Ogier Ghiselin de Busbeck.