"Our exhibition titled Adorable & Precocious [...] gives insight into the care devoted to children in the late period of the Ottoman Empire and the early years of the Republic. Sadberk Hanım Museum's collections include a modest but significant collection of children's clothes that reflects the sartorial culture of the period. Historical sources reveal that in Ottoman society, children were dressed like 'little adults'. The 72 pieces featured in the exhibition and the accompanying book shed light on the societal structure of the period, as well as the tailoring and fashion culture, in which Western influence can be traced. Among the garments in the collection are uniforms whose original owners cannot be identified with certainty but are thought to have belonged to young Ottoman princes, a ceremonial istanbulin style frock coat, dresses for small girls made of various fabrics with lace trimming, embroidery and other decoration, embroidered felt capes worn by boys at their circumcision ceremony, baby's dresses, and parasols, some of which belonged to young princesses. The catalogue published on the occasion of the exhibition features essays that not only discuss the garments in the collection, but also elaborate on the rites of passage in the lives of Ottoman children, from birth to starting school, and include information provided by written accounts and illustrations of Ottoman children in foreign travelogues and costume albums. We therefore hope that the catalogue will encourage new research on this field."-- Foreword (page [7]-8).
Adorable & precocious: children's costumes in the Sadberk Hanım Museum collection
Children's clothing--Turkey--History--19th century
Children's clothing--Turkey--History--20th century