#15 • Turkish Prisoner Beadwork Purse 1917

Part of TRENCH ART & WWI Memorabilia (live auction by Bannerman Auctions)

High bid $300.00

Status: Sold

Category: Turkey

Turkish Prisoner WWI Beadwork Purse Lot Open lace style beaded purses in various colors. All are fragile with missing beads or areas of damage.  Also included is a beaded decoration dated 1917. Frame measures19cm x 24.5cm with beadwork 13.5cm x 19.5cm. Beadwork articles including snakes, necklaces, purses, bags, and other items were made by captured Ottoman soldiers interned in Egypt, Salonica, India, and Britain, utilizing glass beads provided by their British captors.  These folk art crafts were sold or traded to the guards, soldiers encamped nearby, or civilian shop owners in nearby cities, most notably Cairo, which is specifically recognized for it's trade in Turkish POW crafts at the local curiosity shops in a 1917 report to the International Committee of the Red Cross.  Estimate: $200 - $300