Tablet weaving from Anatolia and the Ottoman court

Tablet, or çarpana, is the name used for the plates used in producing a group of woven bands known colloquially as "belt", "cord" or "rope". These handwoven bands were used for a variety of purposes, and long before the industrial age the teaching and learning of the technique was a part of the traditional culture. The bands were generally woven in the home by women, whereas men produced them as a trade or occupation. The uses of the bands varied widely and depended on the lifestyles of the societies in which they were produced. The patterns, colors, materials and techniques utilized in rural areas are therefore different from their counterparts in the cities and palaces. Tablet weaving is disappearing as a form of production with the changes in living circumstances and the increase in machine-produced substitutes of different materials, resulting in a rapid decrease in the numbers of handweavers with the consequent limited transfer of knowledge to younger generations. Tablet weaving is currently taught in only a few weaving classes in educational institutions. The aim of this book is to present a history of this unique craft and the areas in which the bands were utilized, the tools and materials used, in addition to the weaving techniques, their patterns and colors. The catalogue contains the analysis of many tablet-woven articles, some of which are published for the first time in this book.