Publication Project "Oya"
a particular research publication is looking for support

After ten years of research and processing of the material obtained, the book of Gérard J. Maizou and Kathrin Müller on the Ottoman-Turkish needle lace Oya is ready and is to be published by De Gruyter Verlag. The almost 700 pages will contain approx. 550 photographs − an expensive printing project (approx. 150 thousand Euros) that the publishing house cannot finance alone. Therefore, the authors would like to ask interested parties and sponsors to make a contribution.

The subject

Ottoman culture was a textile culture, and its high-quality products such as carpets, silk fabrics, velvets and embroideries found the way to European courts, rich convents, and trade accounts. On the other hand, European textile products were always in demand in the Orient and provided inspiration for independent developments.

In the early 19th century, the Oya make their appearance - colourful flowers made of the finest silk needle lace. By the second half of the century, they are already widespread throughout the Ottoman Empire, in Asia Minor, the Balkans, the Aegean islands, Palestine and Egypt. As paintings and early photographs show, Oya adorn the garments of women and men and are proudly presented at the world exhibitions of the 19th century.

Today, Oya are experiencing a renaissance and their patterns are being disseminated via the internet. Oya are again a current and successful theme in textile and fashion design and are included in works of textile modern art.

The book

The publication shows the constant and close cultural exchange between Europe and the Orient; it belongs to the fields of history, ethnology, material culture and textile research and expands the latter with new research approaches. However, the book is not only aimed at people interested in textiles and at museums, but also at Turkey lovers and a wider audience.

The publisher will produce the book in three volumes in a slipcase. The first volume presents the history of Oya lace and shows numerous examples from museums and private collections. The second volume deals with the shape and colour of Oya lace and with its special naming, which belongs to the field of non-verbal communication. Finally, the third part provides a catalogue of 155 Oya examples, presented in large-format photographs and detailed descriptions. The volume concludes with the history of Oya for men and a catalogue of 22 examples of large-format, colourful Oya lace.

An existing pre-layout of all parts, which includes all texts and photos, shows how the book will be looking like. There exists one copy only, and can be shown to interested sponsors.

The authors

Gérard J. MAIZOU is a journalist and photographer. After doing an apprenticeship as artwork producer he studied print technology in München. Then he worked as an executive editor for different publishing companies. Since 1987 he is working as a freelance journalist and photographer. He published magazine articles and books about various kinds of handicraft, as - in several languages - "Leaf Metal", "Modelling", "Enamel", "Tiffany", "Textile Designing", "Knitting", "Modern Jewellery", and many more.

Dr. Kathrin MÜLLER is a orientalist scholar. She finished her studies of Semitic languages and Turkology in Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Germany, by Ph.D. degree. Till 2015, she worked for the Commission of Semitics in the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Munich. She published several books and articles about classical Arabic language and literature, and two catalogue volumes about Arabic manuscripts of the Bavarian State Library Munich.