Marti Dean

Nazarlık and Çengel Gallery · Collection catalogue

Nazarlık 13

Protective wall or door hanging · Anatolia

Full-length view of three linked black diamond-shaped panels decorated with cowries, blue protective eyes and multicoloured tassels.
Object 13 · Frontal view Select to view full-size photograph

Photographic details

Close-up of a blue eye disc surrounded by cowrie shells forming a flower-like motif on black fabric.
Eye-centred cowrie rosette
Close-up of the hanging with cowrie edging, painted blue eye beads and orange, black, brown and burgundy wool tassels.
Eye beads, shell edging and wool tassels

Catalogue record

Object
13 · Protective wall/door hanging; possible connection to Bozkurt family’s çengel production.
Dimensions
112 × c. 29 cm (length × width)
Acquisition
Not recorded in the supplied catalogue entry
Dating
Undetermined; 1990s production proposed by collector, not verified

Materials

  • Three hard, board-like square foundations, possibly plywood or hardboard, covered in black fabric.
  • Cowries, round flat blue plastic eye discs, smaller painted plastic eye beads.
  • Small coloured plastic beads, wool tassels and cotton suspension threads.

Construction And Techniques

  • Three fabric-covered squares oriented as diamonds, stitched end-to-end.
  • Each centre features flat blue eye disc and radially positioned backless cowries; double cowrie border.
  • Four cowrie flowers/stars at corners, single cowries on the four axes, with small coloured beads between.
  • Tassels in black, brown, orange and burgundy hung from cotton passed through three painted navy plastic beads and through tassel head.

Decorative Features And Motifs

  • Repeated eye-centred flowers/rosettes, graduated cowrie arrangements and flower/star-shaped corner devices.
  • Small beads in red, blue, green, purple and orange; each navy bead has three painted white/blue/black eyes.

Condition And Alterations

  • Enclosed core material is not verified; no specific repairs reported.

Motif Research And Cultural Comparisons

  • The plastic eyes are visually related to the protective göz / nazar boncuğu tradition [1, 2].
  • The 2018 PİRHA interview documents Mustafa and Zarife Bozkurt making çengel wall and door hangings in Adıyaman; their work provides a useful comparative lead, not maker-level provenance [3].

Provenance And Research Notes

  • Collector considers this close to an illustrated Bozkurt çengel and proposes 1990s production; direct workshop attribution requires firmer evidence.