SOME DOCUMENTS RELATING TO HEREKE SILK CARPETS IN THE OTTOMAN ARCHIVE OF THE PRESIDENCY

Abstract

Textiles, therefore carpets, have a special place in traditional Turkish arts. Carpet came to Ana- tolia from the geography of Turkistan with the Turks. Carpet making, which is an important branch of textile art, has both social and economic importance. Of course, Anatolian Turkish carpets with the extension of Turkestan geography have the feature of being a national cultural element. In the Ottoman period, it took place as a product of production and as an element of material culture.

In the last period of the Ottoman Empire, wool and later silk carpets were produced in Hereke. F abrika-i Hümayun, the first private weaving factory of the Ottoman Empire, was established in 1843 in Hereke, on the northern shore of the Gulf of Izmit.Hereke weaving also started mass production with the factory at that time. Hereke carpets have been shaped by the state and private entrepreneurs.

There are many documents about Hereke silk carpet making in the Presidency Ottoman Ar- chives. In this paper, the ones of these archival documents about issues that have not been revealed until today will be examined. In this context, the documents recorded about Hereke silk carpets in the Presidency Ottoman Archives are important. As a result of the documents examined within the scope of the declaration, the production issues of the period are clearly revealed.