A fine Ottoman embroidered green-ground bundle wrapper (bohça), Turkey, late 18th/early 19th century

worked with polychrome silk threads and metal-thread highlights, featuring a central medallion containing dense floral decoration, with floral motifs spread throughout, on a dark green silk ground, mounted on a stretcher

In good condition, comprised of two joint panels, colours of silks bright, few minor stains, and very minor small tears, as viewed.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The present silk-cover was most probably made around the time that Selim III succeeded to the throne, aligned with the French Revolution, coinciding with his particular interest in the West, which he hoped to emulate through reform and modernisation. Expert weavers from France were hired for the weaving ateliers he had established in workshops around a mosque in Üsküdar and these weavers were settled into a former Venetian colony in Istanbul upon their arrival (See S. Ipek, Ottoman Fabrics During the 18th and 19th Centuries, Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings paper no. 697, 2012). The marriage of European and Ottoman tastes are manifested in the use of warp threads to produce the floral pattern, in contrast to the use of the weft for patterning in traditional Ottoman fabrics. French weavers, trained in Greece who were working in Istanbul have fine examples such as this piece and others, including hairdresser’s futas, in the Topkapi Palace Museum and the Sadberk Hanim Museum in Istanbul. It is a true collector’s item both with its eye-catching colour-scheme and workmanship and its excellent condition. For further discussion of similar pieces, see H. Bilgi, Asirlar Sonra Bir Arada, Sadberk Hanim Muzesi’nin Yurtdisindan Turkiye’ye Kazandirdigi Eserler, Istanbul, 2005, pp. 182-195 and T. Roderick, Ottoman Embroidery, Studia Vista, 1993, p.104, 106.