Sabine Josefine Brand Points of interest concerning the Turkish Tent

The Turkish tent is a one of the largest and most important artefacts which belongs to the Deutsches Historisches Museum (DHM) in Berlin. The said item is a circular tent which was transported from location to location throughout campaigns waged by the Ottoman military forces to serve as a representative chamber or reception "hall" for high ranking military personnel. The tent - with an approximate 20 meter circumference, 7 meter diameter and 3.5 meter height - is mainly made of cotton fabric. (The exact measurements will be available once conservation treatment is complete and when the item has been erected). Decorative adorning elements are to be seen in the interior, these are made of silk/ cotton fabric and using >technique appliqué< were secured onto a red cotton fabric covering the entire interior of the tent. The external "lining" was made of a bluish-green dyed cotton fabric, this colour was probably achieved using copper. The supporting elements of this expansive three dimensional artefact were a variety of hidden straps and ropes made of cotton. The most important support however was the central pole which ran through an opening in the middle of the roof. Several other similar surviving examples of this tent suggest that the pole was made of wood, and that it was carved, painted and crowned with a metal peak. Both items, pole and crown have been lost during the course of the tent's eventful history. Other indispensable components fundamental to the tent's construction and as load carriers were, firstly wooden toggles, these facilitated the join between the tent's wall and it's roof, and secondly leather reinforced apertures located at the front corners of the canopy. These were utilised to raise the canopy when required, using two further wooden poles. (These are also unfortunately lost.) Finally it is worth mentioning that the majority of the fundamental interior red cotton fabric has faded to a paler shade. The fading and general deterioration of the silk/ cotton >appliqués< both testify for the age and use that this artefact has been put to in the last 320 years or more. Despite this length of time, the general condition of the tent is remarkably impressive, it however still needs to undergo considerable conservation and restoration work before it can be re-introduced as part of the DHM's permanent exhibition in spring 2004. It has therefore been under treatment in a workshop since 1997 and will remain there until all preservation work is complete at the end of 2001. Progress reports and information concerning the conclusion of the work will be reported here in the near future. Berlin, February 2000