A TURKISH EMBROIDERED SILK DOCUMENT HOLDER
Possibly Ottoman Turkey, late 19th - early 20th century

Of rectangular shape, the silk document holder featuring two elaborately embroidered panels reflecting late Ottoman decorative aesthetics, executed in vibrant silk threads and metallic thread couching, presenting stylised floral, pseudo-calligraphic, and geometric designs, one side with a central tughra-style decoration, while the reverse adorned with the crescent and star emblem—symbols associated with Ottoman imperial iconography, particularly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

61cm x 49cm

The silk ground of this holder, embroidered in raised metal and silk threads, echoes the techniques found in Ottoman diplomatic wallets of the 18th and 19th centuries—such as those held in the collections of the Sadberk Hanım Museum in Istanbul and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. These embroidered wallets and document folders, often presented to foreign dignitaries, were highly prized for their craftsmanship and symbolic content. The continued use of similar motifs and techniques in this early 20th-century example demonstrates the enduring prestige of Ottoman textile traditions, even as the empire approached its twilight years. The document holder’s structure—with a trapezoidal profile and capacious interior—suggests its use as a formal correspondence or archival case, possibly for safeguarding official papers (firman) or personal letters within a diplomatic elite.