{"product_id":"original-wwi-ottoman-empire-turkish-prisoner-of-war-souvenir-woven-bead-snake-dated-1919","title":"Original WWI Ottoman Empire Turkish Prisoner of War Souvenir Woven Bead Snake Dated 1919","description":"\u003cp\u003eOriginal Item: Only One Available. This souvenir beaded “snake,” was brought back after the First World War by a USGI. It originates from the Ottoman Empire. Drawing on the rich tradition of textile crafts in the Ottoman Empire, Turkish soldiers incarcerated in British prison camps in the Middle East during and immediately after World War I made a variety of beadwork items to relieve the boredom of their prolonged imprisonment and to barter or sell for food and other amenities.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA nearly identical example is part of the collection at the National World War One museum in Kansas City, Missouri and can be seen at this \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.theworldwar.org\/support\/donate-object\/recentacquisition\/ottoman-empire-souvenir-snake\" target=\"_blank\"\u003elink\u003c\/a\u003e. Another wonderful article on Ottoman Prisoner of War Snakes published by the Australian War Memorial can be found at this \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.awm.gov.au\/articles\/blog\/ottoman-prisoner-of-war-beadwork\" target=\"_blank\"\u003elink\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith blue beads spelling out: \u003cstrong\u003eTURKISH PRISONER 1919\u003c\/strong\u003e, this piece was made by the beaded crochet method or weaving on small looms. Crochet beaded snakes were the most popular of the beaded souvenirs created in the prisoner of war camps at the time. This is probably for two reasons, firstly a snake is basically a tube, a very easy shape to make with bead crochet. Secondly, snakes were a symbol of good luck in parts of South East Europe, so the prisoner of war snakes could have had a symbolic importance for their makers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePrisoners who made the items might have been from the far-flung Ottoman Empire: Turkish, Kurdish, Arab, Greek, or Eastern European. According to recollections Seaman 2nd Class Cyril H. Gaudreau, he was given a snake by Turkish P.O.W.’s to thank him for teaching them how to play baseball.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis example is in excellent condition and measures approximately 71 inches in overall length.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Original Items","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39863546871877,"sku":"ONSV21NOS111","price":595.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1524\/1342\/products\/ONSV21NOS111__01.jpg?v=1646836774","url":"https:\/\/www.ima-usa.com\/products\/original-wwi-ottoman-empire-turkish-prisoner-of-war-souvenir-woven-bead-snake-dated-1919","provider":"International Military Antiques","version":"1.0","type":"link"}