For instance, the ‘sleeves’ (bodice?) Mabel Bent refers to could easily resemble those illustrated by V&A item CIRC.628-1928, said to have come from Tilos, the next island south from Nisyros, and donated by Professor and Mrs Percy Newberry, whom we know were in contact with Mabel Bent. A search of the V&A’s online collections reveals several unprovenanced items, including bed valences, and it is possible that some of the Bent textiles were bought and then donated to museums around the world. ‘Sleeves’/bodice from Tilos, perhaps similar to those bought by the Bents on Nisyros, no distance north of Tilos, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum (CIRC.628-1928, (c)Victoria and Albert Museum, London).Īs for the other items Mabel refers to (‘underdresses’, the ‘sleeves’, ‘bed valence’), we can only guess as to which collections they might now be in. Liberty’s then donated them to the V&A in the early 1930s. after Mabel’s death (1929), or shortly before, by her nieces (who were her beneficiaries). These were sold to the famous London retailers Liberty & Co. Two of the Nisyros items are today in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London – a red overdress ( T.166-1931) and a cushion cover/pillowcase ( T.149-1930). The cushion cover/pillowcase (detail) bought by the Bents on Nisyros in 1885 and now in the Victoria & Albert Museum (T.149-1930, (c)Victoria and Albert Museum, London). In 1886 Theodore offered three dresses acquired from Karpathos (visited in the same season as Nisyros) to the Victoria & Albert Museum in London for £15 (£2250). The sterling sum Mabel mentions (taking £1 in 1885 for £150 today) equates to nearly £600. We have bought 5 of these underdresses, 1 pair of sleeves, a pillow cover, and a bed valance for £3.15.0.” (The Travel Chronicles of Mrs. because all the women in this Turkish island wear an open sleeveless gown of it with a very full skirt a good deal shorter than the thick cotton shirt with handsome silk embroidery round the tail, 1½ yards round. The Bents explored Nisyros from 21–24 February 1885, and seem to have bought there eight or nine garments/textiles, as Mabel notes in her diary for 23 February: “The women here wear a very pretty dress, and now we know why ‘Turkey red’ is called Turkey red, i.e. 262 (Mar), 253-65) (NB Mabel never refers to this merchant in her diary and Theodore may well have made it up to pander to the prejudices of the day.) “We have bought 5 of these underdresses, 1 pair of sleeves, a pillow cover, and a bed valance for £3.15.0.” An extract from Mabel Bent’s ‘Chronicle’ of February 1885 (The Hellenic Society, London). It was a competitive field, as illustrated by an (unpleasant) note by Theodore regarding a fellow passenger, the following year, to the nearby island of Asytpalaia: “Another passenger, too, turned up, whom we soon learnt to be a little red-haired Jew from a bazaar in Constantinople, who took this opportunity to make a descent on Astypalaea for embroideries and plates he was our bête noire in the island: whenever we tried to effect a bargain he was always to be seen hovering around, ready to offer more if our price was low, and to chuckle if we gave too much.” ( ‘Astypalæa’. The red overdress bought by the Bents on Nisyros in 1885 and now in the Victoria & Albert Museum (T.166-1931, (c)Victoria and Albert Museum, London).Īvid collectors (and dealers) of textiles, the Bents acquired a number of articles of clothing and domestic embroideries on their journey around the Dodecanese in the first quarter of 1885. Their main interest was Karpathos, but before sailing there the couple spent time on Rhodes, Nisyros, and Tilos, looking for items of interest to them – antiquities, textiles, ceramics – as well as making notes of traditions, folklore, and customs, and taking photographs and sketching. In early 1885, Theodore and Mabel Bent were travelling in the islands we now refer to as the Dodecanese (in the Eastern Mediterranean), but were then in Turkish hands. Med in early 1885, calling at Rhodes, Nisyros, Tilos, and Karpathos (map: Glyn Griffiths). The Bents visited the Dodecanese in the E.
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