Creation and Display Studies on Ethnographical Textiles Collection of Higher Agricultural Institute

Abstract

Following the establishment of the Turkish Republic, Ankara University Faculty of Agriculture became one of the foremost academic institutions specializing in traditional handicraft education in Turkey. Founded in 1933 as the Agricultural Colllege (Yüksek Ziraat Enstitüsü), it joined Ankara University in 1946. The Institute consisted of four faculties, including Natural Sciences, Agriculture, Veterinary and Agricultural Arts. Many textile artefacts from across Turkey were brought to the Institute from various regions of Turkey to be used as course materials during the 1930s, resulting in the first academic studies on raw materials, textures, contents and forms. The Institute’s written academic documents became sources of handicraft research while the textiles used during the courses have since acquired ethnographic artefact status. Owned by the Institute, these artefacts are the subject of the project titled “Establishing the Local (Village) Handicraft Collection of Ankara University”, which was approved and initiated in 2017 by the Ankara University Coordinatorship of Scientific Research Projects. The project entailed preventive conservation work on textiles with YZE tags (preparation of ID cards, photographic documentation, condition report), resulting in proposals for active conservation interventions. This article focuses on preventive conservation work carried out on the textiles with YZE tags, as well as the preparation of a catalogue containing written and visual information about these artefacts, and the design of a handicraft exhibition showcasing these textiles.

Keywords

• textile
• preventive conservation
• exhibition
• peasant handicraft
• museology