Guide
The ministry's page for the Konya Ethnography Museum is a list of what is inside it and almost nothing else: no founding date, no description of the building, no address and no opening hours appear on it.
What it does describe is a textile collection in unusual detail. Women's clothing in velvet, satin and atlas silk — bindallı gowns, dresses, şalvar with işlik and cepken jackets, waistcoats and kaftans — worked in metal-thread embroidery, cord appliqué and various frame-embroidery techniques. With them are silver and nickel-alloy belt buckles, pendants, bracelets, earrings and headpieces; knitted and woven purses for money, watches and seals; woollen socks and gloves; and bundles, towels, sashes, pillow and bedding sets embroidered in a range of named Turkish techniques.
The metalwork runs from Seljuk and Ottoman keys and locks of various sizes to kitchen vessels: beaten copper and brass cauldrons, pots, bowls, trays, ewers and healing cups, with glass and porcelain alongside. There are silver and brass candlesticks and censers, and coffee sets made up of wooden and metal grinders, roasting pans, mortars, caddies, cups and cup holders.
Two more groups stand out. One is a prayer-bead collection in coconut, amber, agate, jet, mother-of-pearl and ivory, shown with pipe mouthpieces, bowls, cases and tobacco pouches. The other is Ottoman calligraphy: Qur'ans and other manuscripts, and the tools of the craft — burnishers, inkwells, paper scissors, penknives and cutting rests, writing chests, mother-of-pearl inlaid lecterns, consoles and mirrors. Ottoman firearms with flintlock and percussion mechanisms, powder flasks and edged weapons complete the display.
