Uçkur (sash) detail Turkey Ottoman Empire 18th century The Textile Museum 1996.27.1 Gift of David Dew Bruner The uçkur was a long narrow sash used by both men and women. It was used to keep baggy pants tight around the waist. Both ends of the uçkur were embroidered with stitches that created a reversible effect so that when tied, the decorated ends dangled down in the front as adornment. The beginning of the 18th century marked the widespread use of metallic threads to enhance designs in embroidered textiles as seen on this uçkur. The earliest surviving examples of Ottoman textiles with metallic thread embroidery date to the 16th century. Why did metallic threads become more apparent in 18th century? Structural information for this object Previous | Next Back to Thumbnails © 2001, The Textile Museum, 2320 S Street, NW; Washington, DC 20008