YENISEHIRLIOGLU, Filiz and Gözde ÇERÇIOGLU (2018). Sof: Weaving the History of a City, Ankara: Koç University. ISBN 978-6059388139. Softback, pp. 317, fully illustrated with black/white and colour images, bibliography. Price: €19.80.
This book is a catalogue for an exhibition with the same name that took place in the Koç Museum, Ankara in 2018, but it is more than capable of being a ‘stand alone’ volume. The book is filled with very interesting information about sof, a type of Turkish cloth made from angora goat hair that is more commonly known as mohair.
As indicated in this volume, Angora goats, also known as Ankara goats, have been used for hundreds of years for the production of high quality cloth.
The book covers a wide range of subjects that trace the production of mohair cloth from animals and fibre to end products, including spinning, dyeing and weaving, as well as the use of this type of fibre and cloth for local and export (especially to Europe including the Netherlands). There is even a chapter on the representation of the Angora goat in paintings, stamps and banknotes in order to emphasise just how important this animal has become over time.
Recommendation: A really interesting book with a wide range of information that is both intriguing and stimulating to find out more about this form of cloth that was so important from the late medieval period onwards, both in the Ottoman Empire and surrounding countries.
Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, 1 January 2023
