#16 • Turkish Prisoner WWI Beadwork Purse

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

High bid $325.00

Status: Sold

Category: Turkey

Turkish Prisoner WWI Beadwork Purse Lot Most measure about 21cm x 14cm, not including the handle portion: open lace style beaded purses in various colors. All are fragile with missing beads or areas of damage.  Also included is a beaded decoration for hanging with  a butterfly and "MASALLAH." 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