Weaving an empire: the Hereke factory under the banner of Ottomanism (1842–1914)

Abstract

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the style of Ottoman textiles underwent a remarkable shift. This study examines this shift through the case of the Hereke Imperial Factory, a showcase of Ottoman modernism, from the factory’s foundation to the run up to the First World War. In this study, I draw on Ottoman archival records and sources found at the Hereke factory library to show how the style of the textiles produced at the factory was gradually ‘nationalized’ under the reigning political ideology of the day. I also argue that the evolving styles produced by the designers at the Hereke factory were not merely a reflection of the political culture of the era but also, and more significantly, an active factor in shaping that culture. When creating their designs, the designers at Hereke consciously sought to revive the past, and over time, I show, the aspects of the past they embraced for this purpose changed in important ways, gradually shifting from European-style ornamentation to more ‘authentic’ Ottoman styles that were in reality an entirely new synthesis of earlier Eastern designs. That is, designers effectively created a self-consciously ‘Ottoman style’ for the first time, paralleling the efforts of the empire around them to forge a modern imperial identity. I devote particular attention to Tovmas Effendi, an Armenian painter and Hereke’s chief draftsman, to demonstrate how the idea of Ottomanism crystalized in carpet design.